Caught on the Rebound
by Pyromanic519
Summary: Kyoto is known for it's attraction to romance. When Kagami gets her romantic expectations raised up and shot down, how will she react? Follow as Kagami finally finds her feelings for Konata. Konami P.S. please log in to leave comments. Thanks!
1. Aftermath of the Let Down

Naruhina43: Hola, Howdy, Hello, and whatever else you can think of! I'm back with a new story. It will only be a few chapters long, but it's still something that I really like so far. This chapter takes place just after Kagam's little "scene" at Kyoto with that creepy doll dude. Please enjoy.

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Kagami walked silently into the hotel. There was a thick atmosphere hanging over her, like murky gray rain clouds fogging up her mind. Kagami couldn't believe what happened. That stupid idiot.

She couldn't believe she had been so naïve. She had really believed that some mysterious guy was going to admit his love. She felt so foolish. Had she really been stupid enough, no, hopeful enough, to think that something romantic would happen? That a secret admire would boldly approach her admit his love. That kind of stuff only happened in romance movies, and other stupid made-up events. She cursed the romance novels she had taken to reading, and mentally scolded herself for being so gullible. The word gullible in her mind instantly reminded her of Konata.

"Damn it, she's right. I really do fall for everything." Kagami muttered angrily. She walked through the lobby, her sullen face attracting many glances, some sympathetic, others curious. She glared at all of them. She stared out of the elevator glass with a set face. The door pinged open, and she stepped out slowly. She withdrew her key in front of the plaque that said "Room 403" and opened the door.

"Hey! Kagamin, where were you?! Misao and Ayano stopped by earlier, but you weren't here so I-"

Kagami ignored Konata's rant and walked into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She ran hot water into the bathtub, and splashed cold water from the sink onto her face. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she saw that her eyes were red and puffy. Had she really cried without being aware of it? She shook her head, and began undressing. She stopped the water after a few minutes, and slowly dipped herself in, with an involuntary sigh of relief.

She let herself soak in the water, not really bothering with washing herself. She was still mentally cursing everything that was annoying her.

"Stupid boy. Stupid optimism. Stupid romance. Stupid Konata." It took Kagami a moment to realize that Konata had once again somehow creeped her way into her thoughts at one of the most random and unneeded times.

"Damn, this guy really screwed me up." Kagami muttered angrily. She closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the vision of what she must have looked like to although those people who looked at her. She gently hit the edge of the tub with her fist, as a small tear leaked out of the corner of her eye.

……

"What was that about?" Konata asked confusedly to Miyuki and Tsukasa. The two shrugged.

"I've never seen Onee-chan like that. She seems really upset." Tsukasa said quietly.

"Way to point out the obvious Tsukasa." Konata said sarcastically. Tsukasa blushed.

"Sorry, Kona-chan." Tsukasa said apologetically.

"So does anyone have any ideas on how she might have gotten this way?" Konata asked. The others shook their heads.

"Right. Well I guess it's up to one of us to find out. Any volunteers?" Konata asked. Tsukasa and Miyuki just stayed silent. Konata sighed.

"Fine. I'll try. But I'm waiting until she gets out. Kagami's scary when she's pissed." Konata told them.

……

Kagami finally stopped crying. She knew it was just her imagination, but the water level seemed to be a bit higher than before she started. She decided to get out. She searched for the plug and let the water drain out. As it did, she stepped out and reached for a towel. Kagami attempted to clear her head and let go of the night's memory, but her red, tear-stained, haunted face staring back at her in the mirror didn't help it at all. Kagami gathered up her strength in one long breath.

"Alright. Alright. Pull yourself together girl. It's just a boy. You can't let him do this to you. I am strong, I am happy. I am strong, I am happy, I am… being totally stupid." Kagami sighed. She hit her head.

"I just need to stop thinking about it. I need something to take my mind off of this. And I know just the person to do it." Kagami exclaimed softly. She toweled herself dry and thought of what conversation she could start to take her mind off of what had happened. She stepped into the pajamas that she had brought in, and opened the door, with the steam that she hadn't even realized was there spilling out. She let out a sigh of relief. That bath and steam really did help clear her mind.

"Hey guys." She said casually. She sat down an noticed the way her friends were staring at her.

"_Damn, they noticed."_

"Uh, hey Kagami. Did you enjoy your bath?" Konata asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. It really helped take off all the stress of the day." Kagami said happily. Konata, Tsukasa, and Miyuki exchanged looks.

"What's up?" Kagami asked in an innocently curious voice.

"It's nothing. You just seemed a little bummed earlier. We were wondering if you were okay." Konata said nervously.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." Kagami said, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. Konata let the subject drop.

"Alright, if you're fine. So is anyone else really excited for tomorrow? The last day?" Konata asked excitedly.

"Oh yeah! I forgot that tomorrow was the last day!" Tsukasa said innocently.

"That's our Tsukasa! Always that airhead." Konata said with a grin, petting Tsukasa's head.

"Well I have to agree on the airhead part, but could you not tease her like that? I could tease Yutaka. How would you feel if I did that?" Kagami asked.

"Well I tease Yutaka too. So it wouldn't matter too much." Konata stated matter-of-factly. Kagami couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"That's not the kind of thing you admit Konata!" Kagami yelled angrily.

"Why not, you tease Tsukasa all the time." Konata pointed out.

"Uh, well, that's different!" Kagami stuttered out angrily.

"Sure…" Konata said smugly.

"Shut up!"

Yep, Konata was definitely the person to go to if you wanted to forget all your old troubles. The only draw back: She gives you new ones.

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Naruhina43: Well, that was the first chapter. Please review!


	2. The Day After

Naruhina43: YOLAMOS! That's spanglish slang for HI YA PEOPLE! Welcome back to Caught on the Rebound! Second chapter is here, and I hope you enjoy it. I make a random conversation based on Konata's Middle School friend, but I'm not sure if it will come up again. But I hope you enjoy it! Please R&R!

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Kagami stood at the edge of the rail, looking down at the happy couples on the beach. She sighed mentally, cursing Kyoto for not letting her forget last night. She didn't have what she called "emo syndrome" anymore, but she was still depressed about it, and still pretty pissed at the guy.

"I figured out the directions to get there!"

"And you're sure it's okay to go?"

"Oh yeah. Besides, we're just looking at the building from the street."

Kagami sighed. At least this could help take her mind off of things.

"I don't see why we have to go to all this trouble, just 'cause we're in Kyoto."

Konata smiled and waved her finger.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You still don't get the adventurous ways of the Otaku." Konata said with a smile.

"And I don't ever wanna get it." Kagami said flatly. Even if she was a friend, Konata was still a bigger mystery to her then anyone else. Even Tsukasa. The girls talked all the way to their destination. The subjects ranged from what they liked most about their trip so far, to random discussions like how much homework they would have when they got back and what kind of pocky was the best, (A conversation Kagami eagerly took part in), all the way to what kind of places they would visit that day, and what they all intended to buy as souvenirs. Kagami stayed silent for most of the trip, still brooding slightly at the many couples sitting together on the train. She scowled at a pair of teens who were wearing their school uniforms also. She assumed that they were from the same school, so that they would know who she was and would have enough brains to not say anything. Although they barely seemed to notice her as they began making out. Kagami scowled at them. Were they really stupid enough to do that in public?

"Kagami, what's wrong?" Konata's voice snapped Kagami back to earth.

"Huh? What'd you say?" Kagami asked blankly.

"I asked if anything's wrong." Konata said curiously.

"Nah, everything's fine. Look we're here." Kagami pointed out quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Oh you're right Kagami." Konata said in with a gasp.

"Why do you act like it's such a big surprise?" Kagami asked angrily.

"C'mon let's go!" Konata said, completely ignoring Kagami's question, and running out of the train. Kagami sighed and followed her out with Miyuki and Tsukasa. Konata stopped running, and allowed the others to catch up. They walked out of the station, and began talking again. Kagami took one look around, and one of the first things that came to mind was "ghost town."

"There's nothing even here." She pointed out.

"That's a good thing, 'cause they need to concentrate on their work." Konata said happily. They made their way to the Kyoto Animation Center. Konata stopped suddenly and pulled out her camera.

"What're you doing now Konata?" Kagami asked in an annoyed voice.

"I wanna take a picture!" Konata said happily. She joined the others in front of the sign and exclaimed: "Say cheese," as the group made a pose.

"That's a keeper. Kagamin looks so cute in this one. It's a rare experience, so I need to keep it forever." Konata said victoriously.

"Do you always have to twist everything you say into an insult?!" Kagami asked angrily, although a tiny blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I don't twist it into an insult, you just make it sound like an insult in your head. You ignore all the good parts, and focus on the bad parts." Konata said wisely. Kagami opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out.

"_Where the heck did that come from? Did she seriously make that up? No, she must have been planning that. But is it true?"_

She closed her mouth again, after saying only:

"Shut up."

The girls made their way around the shops, and stopped in various places for Konata to buy her stuff.

The girls came across a picture booth, which Konata immediately dragged all of them into.

"What are you doing Konata? We already have enough pictures." Kagami asked.

"Oh c'mon Kagamin! You can never have enough memories!" Konata said happily. She punched in a message.

"No! That's embarrassing!" Kagami said angrily as she read Konata's message.

"C'mon! It'll be an awesome memory of today!"

Tsukasa and Miyuki both pleaded to take a picture. Kagami sighed, but said no more. Konata took this as a surrender and pressed the button. The girls posed once again and the flash went off.

"This is great, because we got it in Kyoto!"

"There's nothing "Kyoto" about it." Kagami said in a flat voice. The girls spent the rest of their day enjoying themselves, Kagami spacing off less and less, and Konata not wasting as much time shopping for unneeded things. They enjoyed their lunches that they brought, most of them having been made by Tsukasa. They stopped for ice cream, where Konata spent the last of her money on a quintuple (or 5 for those who don't know) scoop ice cream.

"Konata, are you serious?! How can you eat that much ice cream?!" Kagami asked angrily.

"Well I'm not going to eat all of it. You're going to help me." Konata said matter-of-factly.

"Says who?" Kagami asked.

"I know you can't resist free sweets Kagamin!" Konata stated.

"Dang it! Well this is the last time I fall for something like this!" Kagami said angrily, but grudgingly took a bite of Konata's ice cream, making Konata smile in victory. Kagami scowled slightly, but smiled inwardly. She took a bite of her own ice cream and started up another conversation. It was something she thought of to cover up the embarrassment.

"So Konata, you told us that you had a friend in Middle School. What kind of person was she, besides a nerd like you?" Kagami asked.

"Huh? Oh her. Well her name was Tama, and we were actually friends for a really long time. I met her in first grade actually. She was always the shy, silent type. Never really talked very much, wore glasses, always blushing at something. She told me after awhile that the reason she was like that was because she was in the middle of a big fight between her parents. She didn't trust very many people, but she never let go of the people she did trust. She was really clingy and protective." Konata said reminiscently.

"That's weird. She doesn't sound anything like you at all." Kagami said with a grin.

"Well she wasn't at first, but after awhile she got more talkative. At least, to me. She was still silent towards everyone else, but whenever we would eat lunch together or something else, I could never get her to shut up. She had so much to talk about, about so many things, because she couldn't really talk to too many people. I was always her outlet." Konata said with a smile.

"Couldn't she talk to the counselor or something?" Kagami asked as she took a bite of Konata's ice cream. Konata shrugged.

"Dunno. But she was a great friend. She was pretty lonely, so we hung out a lot. She was always over at my house, which is partly how she got into anime in the first place. My Dad was a huge influence on her. He was so nice to her, and she came over and slept over so often that she was like a sister. After Elementary, her parents divorced, and she actually lived with us for a few days while her parents settled the legal issues." Konata continued.

"Seriously? She lived with you?!" Kagami asked suddenly and loudly.

"Yup. Why, are you jealous?" Konata asked teasingly. Kagami blushed, as she realized that, yes, she actually was a bit jealous of how close they were.

"Well, sort of, I mean, we're supposed to be best friends. But this girl is more of a family member than a friend to you. And besides, don't her parents have to give permission for you to keep their kid for any amount of time?" Kagami said quickly. Konata grinned and gave a soft chuckle.

"I don't know Kagami. But we better go, it's about time to leave for home." Konata said happily. She took a last bite of ice cream, and gave it to Kagami. Kagami smiled and thanked her. The girls set off and Kagami split up with them when they got to the bus loading. Kagami headed into the back, and waited with Misao and Ayano for the rest of the class to file in.

Overall, the trip hadn't been great, but it had been okay. It definitely wasn't what she needed though. Kagami was glad that she was finally over the boy. Just as her thoughts turned back to Konata, she saw a couple in front of her begin to make out. She immediately recognized them as the couple from the train earlier that evening. Konata's face blared even more clearly in her head as she watched the two lovers.

Yeah. This trip was definitely not what she needed.

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Naruhina43: Alright, that was the second chapter. Also, I made a forum for anyone with ideas for stories, or ideas to continue existing stories. Anyone can use the ideas posted, so please use it! I'd like to see what ideas you people have!


	3. Bus Ride and the Big Picture

Naruhina43: Hey people! I have to make this quick, because it's time to go to bed, and my Mom wants to use the computer, so her you go! Chapter 3 of Caught on the Rebound!

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Konata looked out the foggy glass to see the quickly darkening sky, that was sprinkled with stars, as if a giant child had spilt glitter in the sky, and the light of the earth caught them, making them sparkle. She heaved a large sigh. It hadn't been the greatest trip, but it had still been better than going to school. Konata rested her head on the cool glass. Beside her, both Tsukasa and Miyuki were fast asleep. Tsukasa resting her head on Miyuki's shoulder, Miyuki using Tsukasa's hair as a pillow. Konata smiled at them and looked back out of the window. She normally would be playing on her DS, but she had forgotten to recharge it, (despite the multiple reminders Kagami had given her,) so she was stuck doing whatever eased the boredom in her easily bored mind. Konata sighed. She took out her cell phone, and called Kagami. She waited for a few seconds, and the phone picked up. A whispered voice came out of Konata's cell phone.

"Hello?"

Konata whispered back.

"Hi Kagami, it's me Konata."

"I can't say I'm surprised. You can never go to bed on time, even if you have nothing to do." Kagami's voice said scoldingly. But Konata could tell that Kagami was smiling as she said this.

"Well are you willing to talk to me?" Konata asked.

"Sure. I can't fall asleep, and Misao and Ayano are already pretty much knocked out, so what the heck." Kagami said.

"So what do you wanna talk about?" Konata asked. She heard Kagami sigh.

"You call and don't even know what you want to talk about?" Kagami asked in an amused voice.

"Yup." Konata said happily.

"Well I don't know. What was your favorite part of the trip?" Kagami asked.

"I don't know. It was all really cool. But it would probably have to be the part where we shared ice cream." Konata said with a grin that Kagami couldn't see.

"What?! I mean, what? That's such an embarrassing part. How is that you're favorite?" Kagami asked angrily, but quietly.

"Well I always liked that kind of thing, because it always triggered events. But in that case, it wasn't the kind of event I was expecting." Konata said happily. She licked her lips, but Kagami couldn't see it.

"I really don't think I want to know what you're talking about." Kagami said flatly. Konata giggled.

"Don't worry Kagami. It wasn't anything _too _naughty." Konata said teasingly. She could literally see the image of Kagami's face in her head.

"Would you stop that Konata? It's really annoying. And I can't yell on the bus when everyone's sleeping." Kagami asked angrily.

"Sorry Kagamin. Now would you like to hear the details of what I was thinking?"

Kagami let out a sigh that Konata could here over the phone.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother talking to you." Kagami said, shaking her head, which Konata couldn't see.

"And then you realize that it's because you can't get enough of me, and you just have to talk to me right then." Konata said happily. Kagami sighed again.

"I don't think that's accurate." Kagami said.

Konata and Kagami continued talking for a long time. They only stopped as Konata gave a soft yawn, and Kagami decided that they better get to sleep. Kagami hung up, and rested her head on the glass next to her. She saw the same sky that Konata had seen not too long ago, and she found just as much beauty in it as Konata. She sighed, and a small smile appeared on her face. She let the gentle shaking of the bus, and the twinkling lights of the stars lull her to sleep, Konata interfering with both her last thoughts and her dreams until she woke up, not too long after she drifted off, at the entrance to the school, where many cars, most likely belonging to parents were waiting. Kagami gently shook Misao and Ayano awake. The two opened their eyes, and they both realized that they were using each other as pillows, and Misao's arm was wrapped around Ayano's waist. They broke apart. Kagami would have laughed, but she only managed a long yawn. The three filed off of the bus, and gathered their luggage from the under-storage on the bus. Misao and Ayano bid Kagami a tired goodbye, while Kagami and her Mom who had come to pick her up, waited for Tsukasa. She appeared minutes later with her luggage, Konata and Miyuki following.

"Hi… ***yawn*** …Mom." Tsukasa said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Hi Tsukasa. Did you enjoy your trip?" Mrs. Hiiragi asked kindly, helping load Tsukasa's luggage into the trunk of her car.

"Yeah. It was really fun." Tsukasa said with a tired smile. Her eyes drooped, and she started to sway.

"Why don't you get in the car before you fall over Tsukasa?" Kagami suggested with a smile. Tsukasa nodded sleepily, and walked towards the car with her Mom.

"Alright guys, I've gotta go. Say hi to your parents for me." Kagami said with a smile. Konata and Miyuki smile back, and Konata gave Kagami a hug, causing her to blush profusely.

"W-what was that Konata?" She asked shakily.

"Just a little… goodbye present." Konata said slowly. Apparently she was sleepy to.

"O-oh. Well, uh… thanks." Kagami said uncertainly.

"No problem." Konata said sleepily. A car horn blared loudly behind her, making most of the students jump in surprise.

"Hey Konata!" Konata's Dad said from the car. Konata waved goodbye to her friends, and set off for the car.

"Oh and Konata, I'll be calling you when I get there, alright?" Kagami told her. Konata nodded to show that she understood, and took a seat next to her father in the car, and they drove off. Kagami sighed, waved goodbye to Miyuki, and joined her mom and sister in the car.

…

"So yeah, we made it back home safe and sound, pretty fast too. Tsukasa went right to sleep though."

"I thought you'd be in bed too. You know, sulking or something." Konata said casually.

"What makes you think I've got anything to sulk about?" Kagami asked slightly suspiciously.

After Kagami had gotten home, she immediately got into her pajamas, and drank a small cup of coffee so that she could talk to Konata, and check her now overflowing spam folder in her email.

"Well, you just seemed pretty bummed earlier." Konata told her.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Kagami said in what she hoped was a surprised voice. Konata apparently didn't buy it.

"Oh c'mon Kagamin! I can tell something was wrong. Now tell me what it is." Konata demanded.

"No Konata. It's nothing." Kagami said flatly. Konata gave an annoyed "Mmmm. Alright, you win for tonight. But I will get you to reveal it!" Konata exclaimed valiantly.

"Sure. Whatever." Kagami said in an amused voice.

"Did you put that picture we took anywhere special?" Konata asked.

"No. It's totally embarrassing." Kagami said in a kind of stuck up voice.

"Alright. Bye." Konata said quickly, and hung up. Kagami sighed and hung up to. She looked up to her wall of pictures, where on her calendar hung the picture they had taken in the booth earlier that day.

The girls were posing, with Kagami in the middle, next to Konata, and a small blush was visible on her cheeks. The words "We Love Kagami" were spelled across it, with Kagami misspelled, but the "e" that Konata had put in it crossed out and replaced with the "i"

"Totally embarrassing." Kagami sighed quietly. She put her phone away, turned out the lights, and got into bed.

As she drifted into sleep, Kagami wondered why she hung up that picture, despite it being so embarrassing. In truth, it was embarrassing, but she still held an attraction to it. Kagami sighed, and rolled over, exhaustion caused by a busy day and the after effects of coffee sending her into a deep sleep.

"Konata."

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Naruhina43: Alright! That was chapter 3, so please review, and I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Morning Monotony

Naruhina43: HEY YA PEOPLE! Did you think I was finished? Well you're wrong! I'm not giving up on this until there's a big romantic/slight-fluff/stupid/dramatic/angsty scene where the two get together. Alright, maybe that's a bit of an exageration. But I don't care. Please enjoy! Also, this doesn't advance the story much, just let's you in on some of Kagami's thoughts and memories of Konata.

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A long yawn spilled out through the Izumi residence. A sure sign to anyone who heard it that Konata Izumi was getting up. Konata's eyes were still glued shut by her desire to return to sleep, but she sat herself up, determined to get through the day without falling asleep. She numbly threw her blankets off, and wobbled over to her computer. She let out another long, rumbling yawn, as she turned on her computer and waited for it to start up. Konata pulled up the internet and headed straight to her email. She opened her eyes to let in the first ray of sunshine, and looked at the screen.

Inbox: 3 new messages

Spam: 486 new messages

Konata sighed and dragged the entire contents of the spam folder into the trash. She looked back in her inbox.

* * *

Message 1

Hey Konata, it's Yui! I just wanted to check if you were home yet. My husband still hasn't gotten back yet, but I invited Nanako to go for a drink tonight. The cop life really has me drained! Well, I'll stop by soon. Say hi to Yutaka and Sojiro. BYE!

* * *

Konata laughed at Yui's seemingly random letter, and moved on.

Message 2

Unfortunately, it is our duty to inform members of ****** that our servers have been experiencing problems, so they will be temporarily shut down for maintenance. We apologize for any inconveniences.

* * *

Konata groaned. "Man! I was going to pull an all-nighter to make up for the Kyoto trip! This ruins everything!"

Message 3

Legendary Girl A! I have finally found your email address! Please buy something from our store! We need you to buy our merchandise! Our very career depends on it! I swear I will make a sale to you, or my name isn't Meito Anizawa!

Please buy our merchandise,

Meito Anizawa, on behalf of,  
The Animate Ikebukuro staff force.

* * *

Konata stared. She immediately moved this message to the trash, assuming it was a prank mail. She decided that since the game was down, she might as well get more sleep. She crawled back into bed, but as she did, a knock came through her door.

"Konata, it's time to get up. It's noon!" Konata's dad said through the door. Konata groaned, "Five more minutes," and hid beneath her covers.

………

Kagami sat up with a yawn, stretched her arms, and stared sleepily at the wall in front of her. She got slowly out of bed, and headed for the shower. As the water warmed up, Kagami got colder. She quickly stepped into the jet of hot water, and sighed. It was good to be back home. Yes, the hotel had been luxurious, but she preferred this shower to even that nice bath she had taken. She let the water soak her hair, and shook her head to let the water go to the roots. She found the strong jet of hot water, and gentle rising of steamy mist to be very relaxing. It was almost as if she was getting a massage. She smiled contently and was very glad that she had gotten over any trauma that the incident had left with her, and that she was finally back to normal. She leaned back against the wall and let the water hit the rest of her body.

"God this feels good." She muttered with her eyes closed. She opened them and reached the soap. As she did so, she could have sworn she saw a flash of blue. She quickly stood up, glancing around. She saw that it had been nothing more than a blue shampoo bottle that had been placed near the soap. She sighed and started applying the soap around her body. She closed her eyes, and imagined the scene that had unfolded before her only two nights ago. She frowned slightly as she replayed the meeting through her head, but other than that, she wasn't affected by it. Now she could easily forget about it. But of course, a little part of her would always keep it in her. She put the soap down and grabbed the shampoo bottle, pouring out a large amount, and spreading it out through her hair. Soon her long hair was coated in shampoo bubbles, and was slowly cleaned by the water. She waited a few more minutes, just to enjoy the water, and then turned it off, stepped out, and began toweling herself dry. She wrapped it around her semi-dry body, and headed back to her room for clean clothes.

As she searched for them, her eyes glanced occasionally to the Kyoto picture. She smiled warmly at it. It was embarrassing, but it was still a good picture to add to her wall. Yes indeed, Kagami had a wall of pictures, that had started when she met Konata, and it had slowly gotten fuller and fuller of pictures of the four girls, most of them containing Konata and Kagami together. But of course they all had some value. They weren't just senseless pictures. They each held some importance to Kagami.

There was the picture taken on Konata's 18th birthday, in which as a thank you for Kagami's gift, Konata had tackled Kagami in a storm of hugs. The present she had given Konata, was the collector's edition box set, complete season of Haruhi Suzumiya, which Konata had been complaining about not being able to afford for weeks. Kagami still had had money from the part time job she had gotten, so she hadn't minded getting it for her best friend. And besides, if it would get Konata to stop talking about anime for a few seconds, it was worth it. When Konata ripped it open, she cheered and set it gently on the table, then tackled Kagami suddenly while yelling "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" at the top of her lungs. Sojiro had taken a picture of that straight away. Konata was on top of Kagami, her arms wrapped around her waist, and Kagami was blushing like a maniac, struggling to push Konata off of her to no avail. That was one of the rare times Konata showed so much emotion to one person.

Another one that Kagami particularly enjoyed was one that had been taken at the beach. Kagami had reluctantly agreed to let Konata bury her in the sand, after about an hour of arguing, and after she finally got in the ditch. Konata put so much sand on her, that she couldn't move. She began to yell, but there was so much sand, and it was so tightly packed, that that was all she could do. The picture showed Konata building a sand castle on Kagami, and a sand crown around her head. Kagami had protested at first, but eventually gave in. Kagami smiled at the memory as she grabbed clean clothes, and put them on.

………

Konata heard her father open her door and come in, but she didn't care.

"Konata, get up. It's time for lunch."

"Go away." Konata groaned.

"I wanted to have lunch somewhere special today. Like at the Cosplay Café you work at. You told me that Patty had a shift today." Sojiro said in a childish voice. Konata instantly sat up.

"Let's go! I wanna see Patty at work!" Konata said happily, and bolted to out of bed. She rarely saw Patty at work, unless they were in the same shift. This was a chance to do some teasing.

……

Kagami walked downstairs, and began setting up breakfast for herself. She took a pocky stick from the box that she always made sure to buy whenever she went to the store, and put it in her mouth. She could imagine what Konata would say if she saw her snacking before breakfast.

"_I thought you were on a diet Kagamin! But you're love for sweets beats your desire to stay skinny!"_

"_Shut up Konata! It's just a little snack."_

"_But I don't think Kagamin is fat. I think she's adorably pudgy."_

"_WOULD YOU SHUT IT?!"_

Kagami sighed. She could predict exactly what Konata would say, but she still let it happen. She couldn't figure out _why_ she let it happen, but she did. She couldn't figure out a lot of things when it came to Konata. Maybe that was part of why she was so close to her. She was always trying to figure Konata out, and it was such a challenge, that it made Kagami like her. She always did like a challenge at something. She just never liked losing the challenge. Like the challenge of dieting. She always lost at that.

She sighed as her toast popped up, she put it on a plate, and got out some meat and cheese from the fridge. She put on a few slabs of turkey, and swiss chese on the toast, and put another piece of regular bread on it. This was Kagami's favorite Breakfast Sandwich. Tsukasa had taught her to make a few simple dishes, most of which didn't require cooking. She ate slowly, and began to think of more pressing matters. Like homework. Tsukasa still hadn't done hers, and tomorrow was school. Her mind focused on things like this for a while, and she didn't even notice that she had finished her breakfast. She snapped out of school thoughts when Tsukasa came in.

"Wow Tsukasa, you're up really early for someone who stayed up late. Plus you never wake up this early on weekends." Kagami said with a smirk.

"Today's a weekend?" Tsukasa asked. Both of them paused, and Kagami sweat-dropped as Tsukasa turned around and headed for her bedroom. Kagami sighed.

It was good to be home.

* * *

Naruhina43: THANK YOU FOR READING! Man, I have a headache. My dad's playing the movie "Daredevil" and it's playing Evanessence (or however you spell it) and It's mixing with my music and the story ideas going through my head. Well, thanks again for reading, and please stay tuned. I'll try to update more often, especially since Summer Vacation is almost here. BYE!


	5. A Trip to the Movies

Total-Insanity519: Hi my peeps! Sorry about taking all this time to update. I have almost 5 stories, and nearly no motivation to write, so it's kind of hard. But here's the next chapter, that was started almost four months ago, and just finished to today.

* * *

Ding Dong

"Onee-chan…"

Ding Dong

"Onee-chan, door…"

Ding Dong

"Ungh… ONEE-CHAN! Door!"

"I know Tsukasa!"

Tsukasa rolled over into her bed, waiting for the annoying bell to stop and let her return to sleep. She faintly heard her sister say, "Oh hey Misao, Ayano, what are you guys doing here?" before she fell asleep yet again.

"We just thought we'd come by to visit. We're gonna go catch that new movie today, and we wondered if you wanted to come." Misao answered.

"Oh. Well let's see if I have anything to do today. Here, come in, I'll go check my calendar." Kagami said, letting her friends in and hurrying up to her room. Misao and Ayano sat down and waited until Kagami came hurrying back down the stairs.

"So are you free Hiiragi?" Misao asked impatiently.

"Depends. What time are we going?" Kagami asked.

"Well we were planning on going right after we talked to you." Misao said.

"But we can change if you can't go yet." Ayano added.

"Oh no, I'm free. Let me just go get some money." Kagami said, hurrying up stairs. She came back down after a minute with her wallet.

"Alright then, Hiiragi, let's go." Misao said, walking out the door with Ayano. Kagami followed.

"I can't wait to see a movie. It's been forever since the last time I've been somewhere with you guys. Carnage Chainsaw Serial Killer IV is supposed to be awesome." Kagami said as they walked

"Oh yeah! I saw that trailer so many times! It looks awesome!" Misao said excitedly.

"Uh, is it very violent? I-I get scared easily." Ayano said quietly.

"Gee, Aya-chan, I would never have guessed." Misao said jokingly, wrapping her arm around Ayano's shoulder and smirking.

"Cut it out Misao. I wouldn't be here without her. You don't seem like the kind of person to invite me anywhere without being reminded. It's okay Ayano. We'll see something else. Something that you'd like" Kagami said to Ayano with a kind smile.

"Thank you Hiiragi-san." Ayano said with a small smile.

"Wait a minute! Weren't you the one who was just going on about how awesome the movie was going to be?" Misao asked angrily.

"Well I actually care about the mental state of my friends." Kagami retorted.

"She would have been fine! She's been to tons of scary movies with me." Misao complained.

"Really? If you get scared so easily, how come you go to so many Ayano?" Kagami asked.

"Well, uh, I-I'm not… really sure. I-I guess it's easier when I'm with Misa-chan." Ayano said quietly, a small blush on her face. Kagami was a bit surprised. Normally, she wouldn't have been so surprised by something like this. She knew that Misao was a kind of protective of Ayano, as well as her best friend since they were little kids. But everything that had happened to Kagami recently, and the nervous and embarrassed way that Ayano had said it made Kagami suspect that something else was going on besides a best friend protector feeling. But Kagami decided not to speak exactly what she suspected.

"Whatever. I guess I can understand what you're talking about." Kagami said with a shrug. Ayano sighed in what seemed to be relief. And strangely, so did Misao. Kagami continued talking (and arguing) with Misao for the rest of the way to the theater, and Ayano seemed happy just watching her friends. They stopped outside of the ticket booth and began to debate on what to see.

"Well I still say we go to that horror movie." Misao said.

"No. Ayano even said she gets scared easily. Do you really think she wants to see something like this?" Kagami scolded.

"No, it's fine Hiiragi-san. I don't want to impose." Ayano said quietly.

"See, Hiiragi? Aya-chan's fine with it." Misao said with a look that said plainly: Stop being so uptight.

"You're kidding me, right Misao? You've known each other for this long, and you still can't tell when she's lying? She doesn't want to see it, and you know it." Kagami said angrily.

"Alright. Fine. We'll go see a _normal_ movie. Geez, you're such a goody goody." Misao said with a pout.

"You finally noticed?" Said a voice from behind. The three turned around to see Konata, Miyuki, Patty, and Hiyori.

"Konata, Miyuki, what are you guys doing here?" Kagami asked slightly suspiciously.

"Yeah Chibi, what are you doing here?" Misao asked.

"We're here to see a movie. That is what normal people do here Kagamin." Konata teased.

"You're normal? Well whatever, just try not to yell out at the characters like last time." Kagami said with a smirk.

"No promises." Konata said with a smile and went to buy tickets for her group. Kagami sighed.

"I swear, sometimes it feels like she's following me," Kagami said shaking her head. "And I wouldn't put it past her either."

"Well now that that's out of the way, what are we going to see?" Misao asked.

"How about we just pick something else? How about a comedy?"

"Nah, let's see something action-y." Misao said excitedly.

"Or maybe a romance?" Ayano suggested.

The three thought for a few minutes, before Kagami got an idea.

"Hold on." She said to Misao and Ayano and went to the ticket booth. She came back a minute late with tickets in hand.

"Alright let's go." She said.

"What movie are we seeing?" Misao asked curiously.

"Same thing everyone else is seeing. It's called Free For All. It's action-y, it's supposed to be funny, and it was rated for a good romance story, so we'd all like it. Even if the title is cheesy." Kagami explained.

"Fine. But I'm not sitting with the Midget, or those freshman weirdoes." Misao said angrily. Kagami opened her mouth to scold her for calling the freshman weirdos, but she stopped when she realized that they were weirdos anyway. They walked in and took seats far away from the others, just like Misao wanted, and waited for the movie to start. They could hear Konata yelling: "C'mon! Bring on the movie! Boo previews! Previews suck! C'mon! I wanna see the movie!"

"You know, if I didn't know Konata any better, I would say it sounds like she's drunk." Kagami whispered. Misao snickered. This continued until the movie started.

………

Some Time During The Movie

Kagami's eyes started to droop as the movie was supposedly reaching an exciting point. She couldn't really understand how it got such good ratings. She thought it was pretty boring. She knew that it was supposed to be scary, but it was actually pretty pathetic in her opinion. She looked over and sweat-dropped as she saw Ayano shivering in fear, one hand clutching the arm rest, the other clutching Misao's hand, her eyes closed, and her face buried in Misao's neck. Misao had an expression on her face that made it seem like she didn't know what to do. She brought her eyes up from Ayano and met Kagami's. They smiled at each other and went back to what they had been doing.

"_Looks like I was right." _

After the movie ended, Kagami yawned loudly. As did most of the people in the theater. Everyone stood up and stretched, then slowly exited the theater. Ayano hadn't let go of Misao for the entire movie, and Misao still hadn't asked her to let go.

"So what did you think of the movie?" Kagami asked, hiding a small smirk.

"Eh, it was kind of stupid. Not even close to what the ratings said." Misao said with a frown.

"I know. In fact, now I wish they had kept the commercials going." Kagami said with a smile.

"I-it was scary." Ayano said quietly, still attached to Misao's arm.

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you got scared easily." Kagami said with a laugh.

"Y-yeah." Ayano said simply.

"Uh, Ayano? Do you mind, uh, um…" Misao began awkwardly. When Ayano looked up at her, she had a scared, innocent face that made Misao forget what she was going to say.

"Uh, never mind." Misao said quickly, turning away from both Kagami and Ayano to hide a blush. Kagami smirked.

"Kagamiiiinn!" A voice said from behind. Kagami sighed.

"I'll see you guys later." She said to Misao.

"Aww, man! I wanted you to come over to my house." Misao complained.

"I'll try to come by your house later. But if I ignore Konata, I'll never hear the end of it." Kagami said quietly.

"Alright, whatever. See you later, Hiiragi." Misao said, walking away with Ayano.

"Hey Kagamin!"

"Hi Konata." Kagami said with a sigh.

"So which movie did you see?" Konata asked with a smile.

"The same as you. I heard you yelling at the commercials." Kagami said with a smirk.

"You were yelling at the commercials in your movie too?" Patty asked excitedly.

"Yup." Konata said without a hint of embarrassment.

"Wait, you saw a different movie? Which one?" Kagami asked.

"Carnage Chainsaw Serial Killer IV." Patty and Hiyori said at the same time.

"Aw man! That was what I wanted to see! I was going to too, but Ayano would have probably wet herself if she saw it. She was already clinging to Misao in fear from the one we saw." Kagami said with a downcast look.

"That's the reason I didn't see it. Miyuki said she couldn't handle the sight of blood, so we saw the other one." Konata said, patting Miyuki on the back, and making her blush lightly.

"Sorry Konata-san." Miyuki said quietly.

"Aw, it's fine. I'm not as big a gore fest addict like Kagamin." Konata said happily.

"Shut up Konata."

"But Kagami can be scary. She could give that killer a run for his money." Patty said with a smile. Her voice sounded innocent, but she could tell she was trying to think like Konata.

"Why do you have to start? Aren't you already enough like Konata? Since you're already an Anime addict, can't you just stop there?" Kagami asked desperately.

"Sorry Kagami! I'm trying to be like Konata so that we can get more popular with the café guests. We think that being able to think like each other would be a big turn on." Patty explained. Kagami groaned.

"Aw man. Wait, what?"

"Never mind Kagami. Nothing we haven't been through a million times before." Konata said with a smirk. She knew the subject of what Kagami called "The Pervert Café" was a sensitive topic with Kagami. And Konata would use anything to get Kagami riled up.

"God you guys, I don't know how you guys stand those guys looking at you like that." Kagami said in a disgusted voice.

"Well they do look really attractive in their cosplay." Hiyori put in.

"Hiyori, you're still a pervert, so that doesn't mean much." Kagami said.

"Heh, I guess you've got a point." Hiyori said with scratching her head.

"Yeah. Well what are you guys going to do now?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I was going to model the new café costume for Hiyori's art." Patty told with a small blush.

"Yeah, well make sure to get a picture of Hiyori's huge nosebleed. She'll definitely get at least one with the new uniform." Konata said with a smirk. They all looked at Hiyori who was already daydreaming about what she was about to see. Sure enough, blood was already trickling from Hiyori's nose, along with a perverted smile. Hiyori whipped out a notebook as she came back to reality and began drawing her visions.

"C'mon Hiyori, let's go before we forget about my _real_ costume." Patty said with a smirk, half-dragging Hiyori along.

"Bye bye guys!" She said cheerily. She turned away, with a small perverted smirk.

"_Hiyori-chan's definitely going to enjoy my little show." _Patty thought to herself.

"Something tells me Hiyori's in for a treat." Konata said with a smirk of her own.

"I don't even want to know what's running through any of you three weirdos' heads." Kagami said flatly.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Konata asked Miyuki and Kagami.

"I don't know. I said I would try and meet up with Misao and Ayano later tonight." Kagami told them.

"Aww! I wanted to have a sleepover tonight!" Konata said disappointedly.

"W-Well, I might be able to." Kagami said quickly. Konata perked up immediately.

"Yay!" She cheered.

"Well that was quick." Kagami said with a frown. The three made their way to Miyuki's house (because Miyuki's Mom had shown up to drive her home) When they got there, they were surprised to see Yutaka and Minami already in the living room.

"What are you doing here Yutaka?" Konata asked in surprise.

"I came over to visit Minami-chan for a study session, but we didn't get what to do, so we wanted to come over to see Miyuki-chan, for help." Yutaka explained nervously. Minami just nodded in agreement.

"Great idea! I need some help with my homework too! We can have a study party!" Konata said excitedly.

"Don't you mean a party for you after you copy our homework?" Kagami asked.

"Yup." Konata said with a smile.

"Kona-chan!" Yutaka gasped. She didn't know that Konata did that,

"What? I'm not good with school." Konata said. Yutaka looked sad.

"It's true Yutaka. I try to help her, but she just doesn't get it. But don't worry, she's getting better." Kagami said helpfully. Yutaka cheered up.

"Alright!" She said happily. She, Minami, and Miyuki walked towards Miyuki's room.

"Why'd you lie like that Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"Well I don't want Yutaka to hate you over something like that." Kagami said with a shrug.

"Aww, Kagamin loves me!" Konata said happily, glomping Kagami.

"Get off before someone sees! Especially in someone else's house!" Kagami said angrily, shoving the midget as hard as she could. Konata reluctantly let go, then raced fprward to talk to Yutaka and Minami.

Kagami's head was spinning, just like it always did after she talked to Konata. She silently watched as Konata cheerfully talked away to Yutaka. Suddenly she wished that Konata was still there, hugging her tightly. She wondered why she always tried to resist, even though they both knew she enjoyed it.

And then Kagami's mind suddenly shifted to Ayano, and the way she clung to Misao. Then she remembered the blush on Patty's face as she left with Hiyori to model.

Something in Kagami's head suddenly clicked into place. She couldn't deny it anymore without lying, and as much as she wanted to say it wasn't true, she knew that wasn't right.

She was in love with Konata.

"_Crap."_

_

* * *

_

Total-Insanity519: Alright, that's chapter... Um... I don't remember which chapter it is, so: That's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!


	6. Miyuki's House of Hookups

Total-Insanity519: I be backeth! And holy cow! I started this a week ago on the crappiest laptop IN THE WORLD (world world world). I'm talking about my Grandparent's ancient laptop in Charlevoix, Michigan. I finished today after a few hours, and a few mistakes. And what was the weirdest thing for me to see was that this chapter was the exact same length as the first chapter in a story I'm going to start after this one (most likely)

But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter of Caught on the Rebound!

* * *

Kagami began to panic in her mind. Just like she always did when she couldn't panic outwardly. She couldn't figure out when this had happened, but she also couldn't really wrap her mind around _how_ it happened in the first place. She had always told herself (and everyone else) how annoying and weird Konata was. She had always complained about Konata wanting to copy her homework, how lazy she was, how much she took advantage of everyone. And all of that was true. But it was still plain to her that she had somehow fallen for the short, annoying, loud, anime and videogame-obsessed girl.

She didn't have time to argue with herself before she was in Miyuki's room, with Yutaka, Minami, and Miyuki sitting around the room, and taking out there things. Kagami absentmindedly sat down on the floor, and took out her (completed) homework. She watched as Minami and Yutaka began asking Miyuki about the problems they couldn't figure out. She watched as Miyuki effortlessly solved, and explained the problems in a way Minami and Yutaka could understand. Then she wondered what would happen if Konata would actually be patient enough to let Miyuki work her magic.

"_If that happened, Konata would finally be able to stop copying our homework."_

After that, Yutaka and Minami tried to solve the other problems themselves, only asking each other for help. She watched as Minami looked over a struggling Yutaka's shoulder, and showing her what to do from behind her. She watched as Yutaka blushed when Minami's arms came around her to write something on the worksheet.

Kagami mentally yelled at whatever force caused all of her friends to act like this.

"_Not them too! Are all my friends bi-sexual? Wait, I don't think I want an answer to that."_

She was brought back to earth awhile later, by a question from Yutaka.

"So, what were you guys doing earlier? Your Mom said you'd gone out."

"Oh, Izumi-san and I went to a movie with Tsuka-chan." Miyuki said with a smile.

"And I went to the movies with my other frien-. Miyuki-san, did you call Tsukasa 'Tsuka-chan?'" Kagami asked in disbelief.

"Oh! Uh-Uh, I-I don't… Um…" Miyuki was blushing hard as she stuttered.

"_Ah come on! Even Miyuki-san! And with my little sister!"_

"Uh-uh… Alright, yes I did. It looks like you finally caught me Hiiragi-san." Miyuki said guiltily.

"Finally? What do you mean finally? How long have you-?"

"For quite awhile Hiiragi-san. We first went out about a month ago." Miyuki confessed.

"Alright, alright. I can except that you and Tsukasa are going out, but why am I only finding out now?" Kagami asked indignantly.

"Well, we thought it best to keep it a secret. We weren't sure how you and you're family would take it. Lesbianism is usually frowned upon, especially for a family of shrine maidens like yourselves. And we know that you can be a bit… Hmm… How can I put this lightly? Overzealous."

Kagami groaned and face-palmed.

"At least you didn't say violent like Konata would've."

Miyuki beamed at her friend. While this happened, Yutaka and Minami had been listening with mixed emotions. Yutaka was a little embarrassed by the idea of two girls together, but Minami was actually slightly relieved by the fact that her older sister figure also liked girls, and had already asked another girl on a date.

"Hiiragi-san, please don't tell anyone. I wouldn't want Tsukasa to think I told someone without asking her first." Miyuki pleaded with Kagami. Kagami sighed.

"Miyuki-san, if this was anyone else, I'd tell you to break up right now." Kagami said. Miyuki almost looked like she was going to cry.

"But since I know you're not going to hurt her, and it's obvious you love her a lot, then fine. You're secret's safe with me. But don't blame me if someone else figures it out." Kagami said sternly. But she smiled slightly when she saw Miyuki taking a deep breath of relief.

"Thank you Hiiragi-san!" Miyuki said gratefully, bowing low.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just hoping we didn't freak Minami and Yutaka out too bad." Kagami said sarcastically as she saw the gaping faces of the two younger girls. They seemed to shake themselves out of a daze.

"Sorry guys. Maybe we should've saved that stuff for another time." Kagami said nervously.

"Oh no, it's fine Kagami. It was just a little embarrassing is all." Yutaka said, with Minami nodding quietly behind her, her arms still wrapped around Yutaka without either of them realizing it.

"Uh, guys… You're arms are… You know…" Kagami pointed at Minami's arms. They both gasped and blushed as Minami removed her arms from Yutaka. They both looked a bit disappointed.

After they all put away their completed homework, they started talking about different things that had been going on at school. Minami and Yutaka told Kagami and Miyuki about how Hiyori had them model for her manga. But they both conveniently forgot to mention that it was modeling with only a few sheets covering them. They had only agreed to do it, because Hiyori had said that she needed it to be them. Hiyori had wanted it to be nude modeling, but that was where Minami had refused point blank.

Kagami and Miyuki recounted what had happened to them at the movies (where Konata had caught Miyuki and Tsukasa kissing a few rows behind her.) And Kagami shared what she had discovered about Ayano and Misao.

"Hiiragi-san, do you think it's a good idea to tell us about that?"

"Well, it can't hurt, can it? I mean, Ayano and Misao, then you and Tsukasa, it's only a matter of time until two more of our friends do the same. I'm starting to think that it's not really that big a deal." Kagami said with a shrug.

"But still, it's very personal. And I would understand how Ayano-san would feel if she found out." Miyuki said worriedly.

"Hmm… You've got a point. Oh well. I'm counting on you not to tell them you know then." Kagami told them. They all agreed.

They continued talking after that, until Kagami remembered that she promised Misao that she would try to sleep over. She called Misao on her cell, and she immediately got an answer.

"Hiiragi?"

"Hey Misao."

"Did you remember that you promised to sleepover tonight?"

"Why else would I be calling now? I'm about to leave for my house to get my stuff, then I'll come over."

"Alright! See-ya Hiiragi!"

Kagami sighed as she hung up.

"Alright, I have to go you guys." Kagami said, as she walked out the door. Miyuki stood up, and ran after her.

"Hiiragi-san wait. I have a question before you go." Miyuki said as Kagami opened the door.

"Yeah, Miyuki-san?"

"So since you're okay with me and Tsuka-chan, and Ayano and Misao… Does that mean that you like girls too, Hiiragi-san?" Miyuki asked. Kagami didn't really know what to say.

"I don't know. Maybe." She said with a shrug, and left.

While this seemed to satisfy the others, Kagami knew that she wasn't telling the truth. But after she found out about Miyuki and Tsukasa, instead of it seeming like the end of the world, liking Konata didn't seem that bad. She thought that maybe it wouldn't be too bad to go out with her. That it wouldn't be too bad to love Konata.

And then… Her common sense sent her crashing back to reality.

"_But still…"_ Kagami thought to herself. _"Maybe it really wouldn't be so bad."_

"Hi Kagamin."

Kagami was snapped back to earth as a certain short, blue-haired otaku stood in front of her, with Tsukasa standing next to her.

"Hi Konata, Tsukasa." And with that, Kagami walked away.

Konata looked back with a confused face at Kagami.

"What was that about?" She asked herself, as she rang the doorbell. Miyuki opened it.

"Hey Miyuki-san, we're here for the sleepover."

* * *

Total-Insanity519: Alright! That's chapter 6! Well, I'll see you next ti-!

Akira Kogami: LUCKY CHANNEL!

Total-Insanity519: Oh-no...

Akira Kogami: Hiya Luckies! I'm Akira Kogami, back with a new season of LUCKY CHANNEL!

Total-Insanity519: What are you doing back here? I thought I got rid of you!

Akira Kogami: You think putting me on you Virtual Private Tracker Force's most wanted list, and a couple hundred thousand police tanks can stop me? Think again!

Total-Insanity519: Security Bots! Activate Anti-Virus Destruction Mode!

Security: DELETE VIRUS: AKIRA KOGAMI!

Akira Kogami: Bring it on Security Bastards! You'll never catch me! (leaps out of window)

Total-Insanity519: ...(stares as security-bots chase Akira)

Minoru Shiraishi: Sorry I'm late! I was stopped on the bus and... (stares at wreckage) Uh... Did I miss something?

Total-Insanity519: Not really... Well, that's all the time we have for today! I'll see you next time on Caught on the Rebound!

Akira Kogami: You'll never take me alive, Coppers!

Security: DELETE VIRUS!

Minoru Shiraish: Seriously, what'd I miss?!

Total-Insanity519: Aw man...


	7. In The Dark

Total-Insanity519: YO! Sorry it took so long to make this damn chapter, but here it is! I've been so damn busy since school started to write, but since I got grounded from _everything_ but writing (which my parents don't seem to give a damn about), I finally gave myself enough time to type out this, and the almost finished 8th chapter of this story. Not to mention the next chapter of my Naruto story. So anyway, here's the next chapter of "Caught on the Rebound"

* * *

Kagami rung Misao's doorbell, and wasn't too surprised to find that as soon as she pressed the button, the door open and Misao blasted out the door to tackle her into the grass.

"Hiiragi!"

"Get off me!"

As Kagami struggled to push Misao off, but failed since the hyperactive girl had her arms pinned to her side in a death-hug, Ayano came out of the door with a calm smile on her face.

"Hello Hiiragi-san." She said happily.

"Minegishi-san, please get this thing off of me." Kagami said with a sweat-drop.

"Misa-chan, I have cookies." Ayano said, holding up a bag. Misao jumped up and ran to Ayano, who gave her the bag.

"Are you seriously that easy to bribe?" Kagami asked angrily as she stood up, and brushed herself off.

"Do you want me to tackle you again?" Misao asked innocently as she stuffed her face with Ayano's cookies.

"No thanks, I'm good." Kagami said and walked into the house with her friends.

"So Hiiragi, what do you wanna do?" Misao asked as she threw away the now empty bag into the trash.

"Hey, this was your idea, I just agreed to come." Kagami said in an irritated voice.

"Geez, your in a bad mood," Misao said with a childish pout.

"Maybe it had something to do with you tackling me as soon as I came?" Kagami replied.

This made Misao be quiet.

"So what do you want to do?" Kagami asked.

"I don't know… How about we study?" Misao suggested.

"You mean me and Ayano study while you laze around and complain about how long we're taking?" Kagami said with a smile.

"Maybe." Misao said with a smirk.

"Fine." Kagami said, and followed Misao to her room. Just as they entered, Kagami's cell phone rang. She picked it up, and flipped it open.

"Hello? Oh, hey Konata… I can't, I'm already at Misao's house… No, I won't just ditch them… Because they're my friends! I don't care if you need the answers for homework… It serves you right for not trying! I swear if you tell them I'll… NO!"

And with that Kagami hung up.

"Geez Konata, you're such a pain in the-"

"What did the midget want?" Misao asked.

"She wanted me to go over to Miyuki's house for a sleepover, and so she could copy my homework. Can't say I'm surprised though." Kagami sighed.

"Oh well." Misao said with a shrug, and pulled out her books.

As time passed, the girls continued working. Much to Kagami's surprise, Misao actually kept going for an entire hour before calling it quits and turning on the T.V.

"Wow Misao, I'm impressed. You usually just read the first sentence and stop." Kagami said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well Ayano told me that since it's almost time for college, that if I wanted to go, then I had to get good grades." Misao said with a smile.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense… Wait a minute! I've telling you that the entire year!" Kagami said indignantly.

"Yeah, but the way you say it is boring." Misao said with a smile. Kagami sighed.

"I seriously don't know why I hang out with you." Kagami said in a disappointed voice.

"Because you love me!" Misao said, jumping at Kagami, who was ready this time, and side stepped the girl, sending her crashing out the door.

"Oh my, do you think she's alright?" Ayano asked worriedly.

"She'll be fine." Kagami said waving her hand.

The waited for a few seconds, and then heard Misao call "I'm okay!"

"See?" Kagami said with a smirk. Misao walked back in. She was still a bit dizzy, but quickly shook it off.

"So what do you want to do now?" Kagami asked as she put away her things.

"Wanna play hide and seek? My house is big enough for it." Misao suggested.

"What, are you in first grade?" Kagami asked.

"Actually, I think that sounds fun." Ayano said happily. Kagami sighed.

"What makes Ayano so hard to disagree with?" Kagami asked quietly. She reluctantly agreed. Misao ran off, dragging Ayano by the hand.

"I take it I'm it!" Kagami yelled after her. She grumbled to herself, and began counting to 100.

After she finished, she walked out to see all the lights in the house were off.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

Kagami stepped out and began looking around downstairs.

"This is such a kid's game." Kagami grumbled as she looked around blindly in the dark.

"How the heck am I supposed to find you in this?" Kagami yelled angrily. She only got angrier when no answer came back.

"Am I at least allowed to turn them on?" She yelled. Still no answer.

"I'll take that as a yes." Kagami said with a triumphant smirk. She flipped a switch, but nothing happened. She flipped it on and off again. Still nothing. She tried a different room. Nothing.

"Crap. The power's out." Kagami began to curse Misao in her head for shutting off the power, but then it occurred to her, that the girl probably didn't even know where the power was, let alone how to turn it off. She sighed, and guessed that she'd just have to find Misao and Ayano in the dark.

"Hey guys! Where are you? In case you haven't noticed, the power's out!" Kagami calling, hoping the others would respond. Nothing happen.

"Damn." Kagami muttered angrily. She walked around for half-an-hour, calling out for them, trying to find them in the pitch-blackness. She kept looking around for awhile, and as she did, she got the uneasy feeling that someone was following her.

"Probably just Misao trying to scare me." Kagami told herself. She continued walking and she heard a small muffled crash behind her. She turned around.

"Misao? I swear if that's you." Kagami said angrily, groping around in the dark.

As she did so, she her a small scream come from another room.

"Misao? Ayano?" She said suddenly, scrambling back towards the scream. What she saw when she found the place made almost throw up.

Blood.

A large puddle of it was on the kitchen floor, with a butcher knife in the middle of it. Kagami wearily stepped around the blood, trying to find whichever person hadn't screamed. She heard another muffled crash near her, and she jumped, scrambling backwards. She felt her feet step into the blood. And even in her frightened state, she noticed something off, but she couldn't quite place it. Forgetting about the strange noise, she bent down, and dipped her finger in the red stuff.

"This doesn't feel like blood." She noticed. She stuck her finger in her mouth, and took it out with an angry glare.

"Ketchup. Misao, you better hope the power doesn't come back on, 'cause when I find you I'm gonna kill you for real!" She yelled angrily, realizing she'd been tricked.

Kagami muttered angrily to herself as she walked through the house, looking for the garage. She found it, and fumbled around in the dark, looking for the power box. She found it after ten minutes of groping around on the walls, and she flipped the switch that must have turned off the power. Sure enough, as soon as she flipped it, the garage light came back on. Through the house the lights came back on. She now returned to the living room, and found Misao hiding rather badly behind a couch. Kagami approached her angrily, and picked her up by her collar.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" She roared in Misao's face.

"I thought it would be funny." Misao said with a nervous shrug.

"FUNNY?! What makes it funny when you think you see one of your best friends's blood splattered around the kitchen in pitch black?! I was so damned scared that I almost took the knife and started swinging at anything that moved! I almost threw up, because I thought you'd been killed!" Kagami yelled angrily. When Misao didn't speak, she dropped her, and walked out angrily without another word.

"Oh my," Ayano said, as she appeared out of nowhere, "I thought Hiiragi would be angry about that." She said worriedly.

"Oh well, she'll calm down soon enough." Misao said with a shrug. She got up and headed for her room, but Ayano grabbed her arm.

"What is it Aya-chan?" Misao asked.

"Don't you think we should clean up the mess you made in the kitchen?" Ayano asked.

"Oh yeah." Misao said with a laugh, and headed for the kitchen to mop up the ketchup.

………

"Stupid Misao. I worry my ass off about her, and it turns out it was all a prank. Freaking idiot." Kagami cursed under her breath at Misao as she walked down to the train station alone. She caught the train and waited, trying to read to calm herself down, like she always did whenever something pissed her off. By the time the train stopped, she had settled down, but was still angry at Misao. She pulled out her cell phone. She dialed a number quickly, put it up to her ear, and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Konata? I changed my mind. I'm coming over to Miyuki's house right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just tell Miyuki, alright? I'll see you guys in a little while."

"See ya Kagamin!" And Konata hung up the phone.

Kagami sighed as she put her phone away.

"Damn it. I don't think I can put up with Konata tonight. But it's not like I have much of a choice now."

And with that, Kagami started to make her way towards Miyuki's house.

* * *

Total-Insanity519: Alright muchachos! 'Tis the end of chapter 7! Thank you for your wonderful attention to my story, and I'll see you next time on

CAUGHT ON THE REBOUND!

Akira: Lucky Channel!

Total-Insanity519: NO FUCKING WAY!

Akira: I'm back bitches!

Minoru: So am I...

Akira: Geez, Shiraishi, calm down.

Total-Insanity519: OUT! Night everybody!


	8. Just Another Night of Weird

Total-Insanity519: Hey peoples! Once again, it's been a hell of a long time, but I'm finally back with the next chapter of Caught on the Rebound! I know it isn't a lot for how long it's taken, but I swear, I'll be uploading more often. I'm hoping to make this story around twenty chapters (although I'm not sure if I'll be able to) But anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter of Caught on the Rebound!

* * *

As Kagami approached Miyuki's house, she was surprised to realize that not even one doubt had come to mind since she had left. So of course, they all started flooding in as soon as she dared to hope that this would be easy.

"_Maybe I should go back… No! I have to do this. I'll never hear the end of it if I go back to Misao's now."_

Kagami approached Miyuki's door, hesitated, and rang the bell. After waiting a few minutes, Miyuki answered the door, smiling, and inviting her in.

"Hello Hiiragi-san. I'm glad you could make it." She said politely.

"Thanks Miyuki." Kagami said, following Miyuki in, slipping off her wet shoes, and following her to her room. As soon as Miyuki was in, and Kagami moved towards the door, she saw Konata hurtling at her. Kagami side-stepped her. Konata crashed a few feet away, and landed upside down, her head on the floor, her back on the wall, and (Kagami couldn't help but notice) her skirt falling towards her stomach, revealing pink lacy panties.

"Konata get up and stopping flashing us." Kagami said with a sigh.

"Aww.... How'd you know I was going to do that?"

"Well… Let's just say I had a déjà vu moment." Kagami said with a small resigned smile.

"Oh." Konata said simply, pushing herself into a sitting position.

"Oh? Is that all you have to say? No stupid questions? No remarks?" Kagami said, with a smug smirk.

"Nope." Konata said, with a smile. Kagami's smirk turned into a look of suspicion.

"Alright… What's up? You're acting weird." Kagami asked.

"Oh… Nothing…" Konata said, an evil smile clearly telling Kagami that she was lying. But Kagami decided to play along.

"Whatever. So, have you guys started studying yet?" Kagami asked.

"Yes Hiiragi-san, we started about 30 minutes ago."

"So how many answers have you managed to copy so far Konata?" Kagami said with a smirk.

"Well, I kinda felt bad coming to Miyuki's house and then copying from her, so I haven't gotten any answers yet." Konata told her.

"Wait a minute! How come you can come over to my house and copy, but you can't do the same with Miyuki?" Kagami asked angrily.

"Well, Miyuki's so innocent, I'd feel really guilty using her like that. But you seem like the type to me that would feel bad for not letting me copy if I asked, so I don't feel so bad."

"That's really low Konata." Kagami said angrily.

"You never really get angry for long when I copy. You usually just say I should study by myself, then let it go." Konata pointed out. Kagami just mumbled angrily to herself.

"So does this mean I can copy from you?" Konata asked. Kagami sighed.

"Fine. It's not like it would matter if I said no. You wouldn't quit bugging me until I said yes anyway." Kagami said.

"So uh…" Konata started to say.

"What?" Kagami asked.

"Um… Where's your stuff?" Konata asked.

"What do you me- Wait a minute… Where's my stuff?!?!"

"That's what I just asked."

"Damn it! I left my stuff at Misao's house." Kagami said angrily at herself. She muttered and cursed at herself for about 3 minutes, until Konata said.

"Well that's okay Kagami, I don't need to copy your homework."

"But it's not just my homework! I had my sleeping bag, and all my other stuff that I was going to use at the sleepover! Now what am I supposed to do?"

Konata opened her mouth, but before she said anything, Kagami interrupted.

"We're not sharing sleeping bags."

Konata closed her mouth.

"Well Hiiragi-san, we have a guest room, so you could sleep there for the night."

"Well there's still a problem." Konata said suddenly.

"Oh? What would that be Izumi-san?"

"Uh… heh, see, I forgot my stuff too. You see, I was getting everything ready, when I got my DS, and I kinda got so into the game, that I left without my stuff." Konata said with a sheepish grin.

"So you're that obsessed." Kagami said, with a facepalm.

"Hmm… Well Izumi-san, I'm not sure whether we have a place for you to stay. I suppose if Tsukasa-san was willing to give up her sleeping bag, then she could sleep with Kagami-san, and you could use her sleeping bag." Miyuki suggested.

"But wouldn't that be kind of unfair for Tsukasa?" Kagami asked.

"I'm fine with it Onee-chan. I don't mind if Kona-chan uses my sleeping bag." Tsukasa said happily.

"Well… I guess it's okay." Kagami said, knowing she couldn't talk Tsukasa out of it.

"Hehe. Sorry Tsukasa." Konata said with her signature cat-like grin.

……

And so the night progressed, with Kagami and Miyuki helping Tsukasa and Konata learn their homework, with Konata taking frequent breaks. When it turned about 9:00, Kagami decided that it was a good time to stop.

"If we went any longer, I think Tsukasa would fall asleep at the table." Kagami said, smiling sympathetically at her half-asleep, and falling fast sister.

"I'm gonna go to bed Onee-chan." Tsukasa said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay Tsukasa. I'll see you in a little while." Kagami said kindly. Shee, Miyuki, and Konata left to go downstairs for a snack, and to watch yet another movie.

……

After the movie finished, Miyuki had barely managed to stay awake.

"I guess it's time for bed." Kagami said with a yawn.

"Aww!! I'm not tired yet!" Konata complained. But a small yawn betrayed her.

"Just leave it. It's getting late anyway." Kagami said. They went upstairs, where they saw Tsukasa wrapped up in her sleeping bag.

"Oh my. I guess she didn't know where the guest room was." Miyuki said.

"Great, Now what?" Kagami asked.

"My idea still stands." Konata said with a smile.

"Konata, we're not sharing beds." Kagami said angrily.

"Well… I'm sorry Hiiragi-san, but unless you'd like to sleep on the floor, there isn't any other way for it to work." Miyuki said apologetically.

Kagami groaned, her face beet red, while Konata cheered mentally, a large smile on her face.

"But… But…"

"Come on Kagamin!" Konata said happily, rushing out of the room. She stopped at the doorway.

"Um… Miyuki-san… Where's the guest room?"

Kagami groaned once again.

……

After Kagami and Konata got ready for bed, and said good night to Miyuki, they went into the guest room.

"It was large, with a king sized canopy bed, with red, silk sheets, and a thick matching red blanket.

"Wow! Miyuki's really classy."

"Yeah, but the way she described it, this is something that you'd expect from Minami's house." Kagami said, looking at it. Konata rushed over to it, climbed in, and snuggle under the blankets.

"Come on Kagamin!" Konata shouted excitedly.

"Fine. But I swear, if you try anything, I _will _strangle you." Kagami warned.

"Don't worry! I won't try anything! I swear."

Kagami sighed, turned out the lights, and made her way to the bed. Even as she slid under the covers, she heard snoring.

"Out like a light." Kagami said with a small grin that was hidden in the darkness. But even in the dark, she could still see Konata's long blue hair, outlining her small frame.

"_I guess this isn't so bad."_ She thought to herself. As her thoughts slowly drifted towards sleep, she absent-mindedly started to stroke Konata's hair. But even as she feel asleep, and her hands stopped moving. Konata began to thank the lord that Kagami didn't know she'd been awake the whole time.

* * *

Total-Insanity519: YAYZ! Thank god I got that posted.

Akira: It's about freaking time!

Total-Insanity519: Oh god, not you...

Akira: That's right Bub! I'm not leaving until you let me be in the story!

Minoru: Sorry I'm late!

...

Total-Insanity519: Do you ever know when not to speak?

Akira: Seriously! Shut the **** up! Know one wants to hear you talk!

Minoru: ...

Total-Insanity519: Oh well, I guess that's it for tonight. See you next time! Bye-nii!

Akira: That's my line.


	9. Comiket Crazy

Total-Insanity519: Alright, here it is! I'm not quite sure how the ending turned out (having no idea what you guys like) so I hope that it's not bad. Please enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

As the sun began to rise, illuminating the room, Kagami's eyes slowly opened. She yawned, and began to sit up, when she felt something pulling her down. She looked down to see Konata hanging on to her stomach, still fast asleep. Her hands were wrapped around Kagami's waste, and her face was dangerously close to Kagami's.

"What the-!" Kagami managed to blurt out before, frantically trying to break Konata's grip on her. After struggling enough, and managing to push Konata off of her, she tried to push the covers off of her. She managed to push them off, but ended up falling out of bed, causing a loud 'thunk.'

Konata opened her eyes.

"What's going on? What happened?' She asked groggily, rubbing her eyes sleepily, looking down at Kagami.

"Why were you- What were- When… What the hell were you doing?" Kagami asked angrily, a blush spreading across her face.

"I don't know. What happened?" Konata asked.

"Uh, you… Never mind." Kagami said, looking down.

"Hm. Oh wait, was it that cuddle thing?" Konata asked innocently.

"H-How did you know? Wait, you were awake, weren't you?"

"Nope. Sometimes, when I share a bed or sleep with someone, I always try and snuggle up to them in my sleep for warmth." Konata said matter-of-factly.

"Then why didn't you mention it yesterday?" Kagami asked angrily.

"I forgot." Konata said simply, starting to get out of bed.

"Of course." Kagami said, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry. But I didn't think you'd mind this much." Konata said apologetically.

"And why did you think I wouldn't mind?" Kagami asked defensively.

"Well you just never seemed to get too angry when I did stuff like that." Konata said with a small grin.

Kagami just groaned.

Konata got out of bed, and went downstairs to the kitchen, Kagami following behind, a small blush still lingering on her face.

"I wonder what Miyuki's got in here." Konata said, rooting around the fridge.

"Don't you think you should ask Miyuki or her Mom before you go looking through their stuff?" Kagami asked.

"But they're not awake yet, and I'm hungry, and I don't want to wake them up." Konata said, still looking at the contents of the Takaras' fridge.

Kagami gave up, and sat down at the table. Konata resurfaced from the fridge with an armful of food. She took it to the counter, and began looking for pots and pans.

"What are you doing?" Kagami asked, a slightly annoyed at Konata's lack of respect for Miyuki's property.

"Cooking breakfast for everybody. That way I have an excuse for taking all their food." Konata said with a smile.

"I swear Konata, sometimes you're such a-"

"Morning Onee-chan, Kona-chan."

"Good morning Izumi-san, Hiiragi-san."

Konata and Kagami looked around to see Miyuki and Tsukasa entering the kitchen.

"Morning." Kagami and Konata said together.

"You're up awfully early Tsukasa."

"I woke up when I heard a loud crashing noise a couple minutes ago." Tsukasa explained.

"Oh, right. I heard it too." Kagami said, trying to make it sound sincere.

"Tsukasa, do you want to help make breakfast? I've already started." Konata said, holding up a pan, and accidently spilling raw eggs on the floor.

"Nice one." Kagami said, as she picked up a rag and began to mop it up.

"Heh, sorry." Konata said apologetically.

……

After Konata and Tsukasa finished making breakfast, while Kagami and Miyuki talked, Miyuki went up to wake her Mom. Konata set the table, and Tsukasa (now fully awake) set the food out.

"Oh, guys, I just remembered that Comiket's coming up soon. You guys wanna come?"

"C-Comiket? Uh, I-I don't think I can make it that day." Tsukasa said in a frightened voice.

"But I haven't even told you when it is." Konata.

"Uh, sorry, but I'm really busy. In fact, I think I have to work on my thing now." Tsukasa said, standing up.

"What thing?" Konata asked.

"I-It's just a thing. And I'm really busy, so I have to go-"

"What about breakfast?" Kagami asked. Tsukasa froze. She reluctantly sat back down, quietly sniffling.

"So what about you Kagami? Do you want to come?" Konata asked excitedly.

"Only if I don't have to buy all your junk this time."

"Aw, but that's the whole point of Comiket! You can never buy enough, so you have to get help!" Konata said passionately.

"Then I don't wanna go. I'm not a hardcore otaku like you, so it's not that big of a deal for me." Kagami said, with a tone that said clearly she was done arguing.

"Hmph." Konata pouted, folding her arms with a pout.

"Don't think I'll feel sorry for you just because you can't go and blow my savings on things you want." Kagami said, catching Konata's act.

"Aw, please?"

"No."

"Pretty please Kagami-sama?"

"No!"

…

"Huh, Konata?" Kagami asked, looking over to see why she had stopped arguing. She turned to find Konata in her face, staring at her intently.

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASE!!!!!" She practically yelled.

"If you get off me, and stop asking, I'll consider it." Kagami said. Anything to get Konata to be quiet.

"Okay." Konata said, pouting yet again, grumpily eating, still trying to pout while chewing.

"Konata, you're such a kid." Kagami sighed, and began eating, as Miyuki and her Mom walked in.

……

Later, after Konata and Kagami had left (Tsukasa had stayed back under the pretense of getting more help from Miyuki, but Kagami knew her sister was lying. She had never been good at it,) Konata brought up the topic of Comiket.

"I heard that at Comiket, they're having a giveaway for these new, super rare ******* cards. The people who have the winning receipt numbers at the end of the day get one. And a couple of people get the whole set."

"Konata, if that's your idea of trying to persuade me to go, then save it." Kagami told her stubbornly.

"Aw, please Kagami! I need someone to go with! You don't have to buy me too much this year. Just a couple of things! Really, the café gave me a bonus this year! And I promise I-"

"Konata, quit it."

"But Kagami, I-"

"I said stop! You don't have to convince someone who's already going."

"But I-… Wait, you're going?"

"That's what I just said, Genius." Kagami said, a small smirk showing on her face.

"R-Really?" Konata asked, making sure it wasn't a joke.

"Yup. Heck, I was planning on going from the beginning." Kagami said with a shrug.

"Then why'd you say you wouldn't earlier."

"To get you back."

"Get me back for wha-"

"For purposely snuggling me this morning. And because I knew you were awake last night." Kagami said slightly angrily, but without any conviction.

"How'd you know?"

"Because you snore when you're really asleep." Kagami said with a smirk.

"No I don't." Konata said defensively.

"I know." Kagami said simply and walked on.

"So how did you know I was awake?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to never figure out." Kagami said with a grin, ignoring Konata's questions.

In reality, she hadn't known Konata had been awake. Konata just admitted. And she really had been planning on going to Comiket when Konata asked her. She knew she would do anything for Konata. She knew it could be seen as a weakness, but just knowing Konata wanted to spend time with her made her too happy to think about it. She knew that it would cost her, both with money, and with sanity, but that didn't matter.

She was in love, and she didn't care.

"_Anything for Konata."

* * *

_

Akira: LUCKY CHANNEL!!!! I'm Akira Kogami, your really cute, and officially part of the story, Navigator!!!

Shiraishi: And I'm Minoru Shiraishi, Akira's assistant.

Total-Insanity519: And I'm the one who ran out of ideas for this part, and finally let these two in the story.

Akira: That's right! Lucky Channel is back!

Shiraishi: That's right. Although the author just told us that we're doing Lucky Channel a few minutes ago, so we don't really have anything planned.

Akira: Don't tell them that you idiot!

Shiraishi: B-but, Akira, it's true.

Akira: Don't you know anything? You're supposed to wing it. Never let the audience know something's wrong!

Shiraishi: But I-

Total-Insanity519: (hey, sound people. Queue the theme!)

(Lucky Channel theme)

Akira: YOU IDI- Aww, is that all the time we have? Too bad! See you next time!

All: Bye-nii!

Akira: I think that music came on a little early. Did you have anything to do with that?

Total-Insanity519: Who me? How dare you!

Akira: I can read that text where you told the sound people to cut me off!

Total-Insanity519: Oh.


	10. The Great Comiket Arc, part 1: Prepare!

Total-Insanity-519: Well, I'm finally back! Today was productive! I finished both this chapter, and a music video that's been in development for even longer than this! But anyway, sorry for the long wait, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. This will be the first of a four part "Comiket Arc" in this story.

* * *

As Comiket approached (slowly for Konata, who couldn't stop talking about it, and even more slowly for Kagami, who had to listen) Konata grew antsy, and began to spend most of her time at home holed up in her room, "making battle plans to invade and conquer." as she put it. Kagami now routinely called Konata each night to make sure she got enough sleep (using the excuse of reminding Konata to do her homework.)

_"Konata, calm down… You're starting to creep me out."_

_"No back talk soldier!"_

_"Konata seriously, quit it…"_

_"That's Sergeant Izumi to you!"_

_"KONATA!"_

When there were only two weeks left before Comiket, Konata began working almost twice as long as usual, usually traveling straight to work from school, and only getting home after closing for the night. Even Kagami got nervous about her money, making sure she had enough to keep Konata happy, and enough for her to buy what she wanted. Both Konata and Kagami had piled up their Christmas money, and Konata had even asked for her New Year's allowance early.

_"Let's see, I worked 8 hours yesterday, 10 hours the day before that, and 10 before that… If I work 12 today that would maybe be ¼ of my budget."_

_"Izumi!"_

_"Let's see, carry the 3, minus 12…"_

_"IZUMI!"_

_"Yes Sensei?"_

_"Are we learning about math?"_

_"No Sensei."_

_"Then FOCUS!"_

_"Yes sensei…"_

And then, with only a few days left before Comiket, Konata could be seen walking to Animate, searching for new Manga and Anime, and catching up with any series she hadn't already finished, and rereading and watching any she couldn't remember very well.

_"Gah! Where did it go?"_

_"Where did what go?"_

_"My manga! I need to keep reading it through school if I want to finish it soon!"_

_"Why are you putting manga before school?!"_

_"Oh man this is bad! I… I… Oh wait, here it is. I was already holding it."_

_"Konata…"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Give it here."_

_"Damn it."_

And then the day of Comiket arrived.

Konata woke up early that day, making sure to double-check her supplies, and to eat a small, well caffeinated breakfast.

_Wallet. Check_

Drink.

_Money in wallet. Check._

Drink.

_Energy mars. Check._

Munch.

_DS. Check._

_List of manga to buy. Check._

_Floor Plan, Blueprints, Tour Guide, Official Map, Handmade Map. Check, check, check, check, and check._

Konata sighed. She felt like she was missing something. Everything on her mental list was there, but knowing how un-reliable her memory was, she still had her doubts. Just then, her cell phone rang. Konata grabbed it off of the desk, and checked the number.

It was Kagami.

"Moshi moshi, Konata speaking,"

"_Hey Konata. What up?"_

"Hey Kagami! I'm just making sure I have everything."

"_Money?"_

"Yup."

"_Food?"_

"Got it."

"_Map?"_

"It's there."

"_List of stuff?"_

"Everything's there."

"_Hmmm… Ah, hotel tickets?"_

"Um… No. So that's what I was missing."

"_Geez Konata."_

"Hold on, I'll go see if Dad has them."

"_Alright."_

Konata let go of the phone, and left the room, not realizing that she could have just taken the phone with her.

"Oi, Dad, do you have the hotel reservations?" Konata asked her Dad, who was also packing his things.

"Yeah Konata. I've got ours and Kagami's." He said, holding up three pieces of paper as he dug through his closet.

"Alright. What are you doing?" Konata asked as she was about to leave.

"Looking for my wallet! I know it's around here somewhere…" He said, rooting deeper into the mess of a closet.

Not bothering to ask why his wallet would be in the closet, Konata went back to her room.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Konata. Do you have the tickets?"

"Yup, Dad's got them."

"_Okay. Well I'm ready when you are, so just come over whenever." _

"Alright, we'll probably be there in about an hour then."

"_Well then I'll probably be seeing you in 2 hours."_

"Just because I'm normally reliable, doesn't mean you can never take me seriously Kagamin. I'm very reliable when it comes to Comiket!"

"_Yeah, I'm sure." _

"I can too! I'll bet you anything that I can."

"…"

"Kagamin?"

"_Nothing… It's just that whenever you make a bet… It usually ends badly." _Kagami said in a worried voice.

"Are you saying you wouldn't take the bet!"

"_Don't put words in my mouth! Fine, what's the bet?" _Kagami retorted quickly. She knew before Konata even said anything that she had just fell hook line and sinker for Konata's scheme.

"Hmm… How about this. If I get there on time, we share a bed for the whole time we're in the hotel."

"_No." _Kagami said flatly.

"Hm. Alright, I guess you just aren't tough enough to take my dares."

"… _Fine."_

"Yay! See ya Kagamin!"

"_Whatever. See you later Konata."_

With that Konata, hung up. She knew she had won as soon as Kagami had agreed. She already knew what to do.

"Hey Dad, are you ready yet? Kagamin says we should pick her up early!"

…

As Kagami put the phone back on the receiver, she sighed.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She asked herself.

She walked into the kitchen, where her parents, and her sisters (minus Tsukasa) were already seated around the table.

"You guys didn't have to get up early too you know." Kagami said, knowing they had gotten up early just because of her.

"Don't worry, we would have woken up soon anyway." Her dad said with a smile.

"That's right. Besides, you seemed really excited about it, so we thought that we might catch some of your enthusiasm." Her mother said, with a knowing smile. Kagami looked down in embarrassment.

Her mother had been the first person she'd gone to when she realized her feeling for Konata. She knew her mother wouldn't get angry and disown her, or anything like that. She'd always supported Kagami in everything, and the rare occasion that something happened that she couldn't understand, all she would do is question Kagami on why she thought what she did. Thankfully, Mrs. Hiiragi had only smiled and congratulated Kagami at first, not even flinching at the news.

Her mother however, was the only person Kagami had told. Her dad would most likely get angry. Tsukasa would start to act weird around her, wondering what to do whenever she was around Kagami and Konata at the same time. Matsuri would think that her sister had gone crazy, and possibly make fun of her. Inori would just keep silent, a worried look on her face, maybe she would look around nervously, or maybe she would just look down, away from Kagami, embarrassed by having a lesbian sister.

Even as she finished breakfast, and put away her dishes, the doorbell rang.

She opened the door, and sighed mentally.

"Hey Kagamin!"

"Hey Konata. Let me just get my stuff before I leave."

Kagami left for a minute, but when she came back down, Konata was already talking to Kagami's mom.

"Alright, let's go." Kagami said with a smile, even though she knew what was coming.

"Okay!" Konata said excitedly.

As they left, both Konata and Kagami said goodbye to the rest of the Hiiragi family and got into the Izumi fan.

Kagami couldn't stop smiling. Even though she knew what was coming, and the embarrassing moments that were sure to follow. Even though she knew what Konata was about to say, and what she would have to listen to for the first half of the train ride to Comiket.

"Oh, Kagamin~." Konata said in a sing-song voice.

"What is it Konata?" Kagami asked, smile still on her face.

"I won the bet!"

"_Heh, I knew she would say that."_

_

* * *

_Total-Insanity-519: YOSH! I'm finally done with this chapter! Now I need to go finish the last chapter of my YutakaxMinami fic.

Also, just incase some of you were confused, (but I doubt that a smart bunch of people like you would _ever _get confused) the reason I put the Christmas money and New Year's allowance stuff, was because I decided to make this the Winter Comiket. Also, for those of you that don't know, Winter Comiket always goes on for 2-3 days, so I'm making them get a hotel.

Anyway, that's it for this chapter! See you next ti-

Akira: LUCKY CHANNEL!!!

Total-Insanity-519: Late as always.

Akira: Hiya luckies! It's your lovely navigator Akira Kogami!

Minoru: And Akira-san's assistant Minoru Shiraishi.

Akira: Yeah, no one cares.

...

Total-Insanity-519: You really are heartless, aren't you?

Akira: Pretty much. Now let us get some air-time, or I'll KILL YOU!

Total-Insanity-519: Fine, whatever. It's not that late anyway.

Akira: Good. Well as you all know, we've been very busy lately, and haven't had much time to show you very many bonuses that devoted Lucky Star fans like you deserve to see! But this week, we have good news! Our host Total-Insanity-519 has made it official! If he doesn't update within a week, he has to go to school naked!

Total-Insanity-519: HEY! I never agreed to that! Where's you even get that idea anyway?

Akira: I just thought it'd be a suitable punishment.

Total-Insanity-519: Punishment? What are you into BDSM now? I guess it does seem like something a manly little gorilla like you would like.

Akira: SHUT UP!

Total-Insanity-519: What was that? I'm sorry, it's just that all you're YELLING made me half-deaf.

Akira: You're really pissing me off!

Total-Insanity-519: Good.

Akira: Why you little! Come here!

Total-Insanity-519: I wouldn't try anything if I were you...

Akira: Oh yeah, what are you gonna do?

Total-Insanity-519: 'pulls out a BFG 9000' SAY 'ELLO TO MY LEETLE FRIEND!

Akira: That's a big gun.

Total-Insanity-519: You bet! Now, if that's all, then I guess this is the end.

All: BYE-NII!

Akira: Where'd you get that anyway?

Total-Insanity-519: A fan gave it to me.


	11. The Great Comiket Arc, part 2: Waiting

Total-Insanity-519: Whew! That was faster than i expected. Although this chapter didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped. This is like... I suppose it's a mix between an introduction and a filler. So yeah, it's pretty slow, and not as good as I'd hoped. But I swear the next chapter will be more of what you expect. More fluffy, embarassing, awkward moments and developments. Also, I'll probably have to make the "Arc" more than four parts. So anyway, please enjoy.

* * *

…beep beep blip beep blip bloop…

DUN DUN DUHHH!

Game Over!

"NOOOO!!!"

_Why did I agree to this?_ Kagami asked herself, as she heard Konata cry out in anguish.

"I was soooo close! Grrrrrr! Now I have to start over again!"

"Konata, why do you keep playing if you know you're just going to lose?" Kagami asked, after Konata had lost for the fifth time in a row.

"I never back away from a challenge! If I let this game get the best of me, I'll live forever in shame!"

"I think you're exaggerating… But I've come to expect that of you."

"I am not! I know this from experience!" Konata said passionately.

"Well if you can still act this way while living forever in shame, it must not be too bad."

"It is too!"

I guess this is why. It all started with these stupid conversations. These random, senseless talks that somehow let us bond.

"Ah, we're here."

Kagami and Konata looked up from Konata's shame monologue. The train was slowing down to a stop inside the crowded station. Even as the bustling Comiket fans were crowding to get out of the doors, Konata and her dad were standing up.

"Hey, shouldn't we wait for the crowd to thin out?" Kagami asked, as the doors open and the crowd surged forward. Konata didn't have a chance to answer before she was being pushed out by the mob.

Reacting quickly, Konata reached out and grabbed Kagami's hand, pulling her into a standing position, and almost directly after, pulling her along behind her, as Kagami clung desperately to both her luggage and the small girl's hand.

After they got out of the train, they huddled up in a corner.

"Geez Konata, you could have at least given me some warning! I almost left my stuff on the train!" Kagami said angrily!

"Sorry, sorry! But I wasn't really thinking!" Konata apologized, rubbing her head and laughing nervously.

"Surprise surprise." Kagami whispered under her breath.

After they made sure they had everything, they slowly made their way through the crowd, up to the surface, and out into the street.

"To Comiket!" Konata yelled excitedly.

"First thing's first Konata, we need to go check into the hotel." Soujirou said.

"Awww!" Konata whined.

Kagami didn't comment.

However, Konata didn't have long to sulk, because their hotel was only a few blocks away from The Big Sight (the place where Comiket is held.)

As they approached, Kagami had to marvel at how Soujirou could afford a place like this, along with having enough money to buy anything from Comiket. The hotel was (from what Kagami could tell from the outside) a 4 story building, with an inviting air, and a mix of cement and steel walls. Although there were no windows. As they walked in, she could tell that it wasn't as fancy as the outside. It looked strangely like…

"Gah!!!" Kagami let out a shout of disgust.

"What's wrong Kagamin?" Konata asked, turning around.

"Th-th-this place is a… a… Love Hotel?!?!?!" Kagami asked incredulously.

"Yeah. What, I didn't tell you?" Konata asked, as if this were normal.

"No you didn't! I wouldn't have come if I had known we were going to stay in a place like this!" Kagami said angrily, already starting to leave.

"But Kagami, what about our bet?"

"Screw the bet, there's no way I'm staying here." Kagami said angrily, almost at the door.

"Alright. I guess you'll just have to sleep in the street." Konata said with a fake sigh.

Kagami stopped.

"And you know, there are a lot of weirdoes around here right now. It's only natural 'cause of Comiket." Konata continued, a small smile on her face.

"Gah… Fine." Kagami said quietly, a blush spreading across her face. As she and Konata followed Soujirou, she could only imagine what this must look like to anyone who was watching.

"Alright girls, we'll meet in the lobby in about 10 minutes." Soujirou said, checking his watch.

"Alright Dad." Konata said, opening the door.

"We're not all in one room?" Kagami asked.

"You really wanna share a room with my Dad?" Konata asked.

"Good point." Kagami said with a sigh. She saw another reason why they weren't sharing a room. There was only one bed.

"… You've gotta be kidding me." Kagami said disbelievingly.

"Nope." Konata said simply, putting her bags on the ground.

"Hey… Wait a minute! This means that even if I didn't take the bet, that we'd end up sharing a bed anyway!" Kagami said angrily.

"Hm, I guess your right." Konata said. But just a little too calmly. Kagami finally put the pieces together.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you." She asked dangerously.

"Oh, we have to go meet my Dad!" Konata said, looking at the clock.

"Quit avoiding the question!" Kagami said angrily.

"Mhmhmhm," Konata giggled evilly, "Maybe. I don't really know much about love hotels."

"But you knew about this one…" Kagami pointed out.

"Heh. Kagami caught me." Konata said with a laugh.

"… I hate you sometimes Konata."

"I know, but you still love me anyway." Konata said with a smile, heading for the door.

"Unfortunately." Kagami said with a sigh, following Konata.

When they got back to the lobby, Kagami expected to get strange looks. Two girls in a love hotel. But no one even glanced at them. Kagami guessed they had seen everything here, so two girls weren't really that surprising.

"There you are girls. You ready to go?" Soujirou asked, coming out of his room.

"Well, Kagamin's a little unhappy because I didn't tell this was a love hotel."

"I'm more than just a little unhappy you idiot. If you ever pull something like this again I'll-"

"Okay, okay, I understand. I'll be a good girl from now on." Konata said with a smile.

"You know it's hard to take you seriously when you have that evil smile on your face." Kagami said with a sigh. But she let it go as they walked towards Comiket.

As they approached, Kagami was met with a familiar scene.

"So it's just as packed as the last one." She said with a resigned look.

"No, not as packed as last time. It's probably about 200 or 300 people more. Give or take a few dozen." Konata said, scanning the massive crowd.

"That makes it soo much better." Kagami said with sarcasm.

Konata dug through her bag. She pulled out her DS.

"This is why I always carry my DS with me!" Konata said happily, turning it on and starting up a game.

"I think the reason you carry that around is because you're addicted." Kagami said with a smug smile.

"That's another reason." Konata agreed.

"Hey Konata, what time does this thing start?" Kagami asked, having forgotten to find out.

"In about ten minutes. It's 9:48 right now, and Comiket starts at 10:00." Konata answered, swiftly checking her watch, and then going back to her game.

Kagami just waited, checking her watch every 20 seconds out of boredom.

Finally, after waiting for so long, the loud speaker came on.

"Comiket will now begin, please move away from the doors, and remember not to run. Thank you."

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: Well, that's the chapter.

Akira: Gaaahh! Boring!

Total-Insanity-519: Yo.

Akira: What kind of chapter was that? Seriously, hardly anything happened.

Total-Insanity-519: Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyway, today we have a special guest. You know him and his crew from the show, he's the half-crazy animate employee, he's passionate about everything that's going on around him. Please welcome, Meito Anizawa!

Meito: HELLOOOOOOO!!!! I AM MEITO ANIZAWA!!!!

Total-Insanity-519: Yeah, I already said that.

Meito: I AM HERE TODAY TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MATTER!!! *lights dim*

Total-Insanity-519: How did he do that?

Meito: Recently, we at Animate have been suffering a loss in profits. We've had to let go some of our faithful employees.

Total-Insanity-519: But none of the ones that we see in the show.

Meito: Y-yes, but my point, is that we need you, the faithful viewers and readers of Lucky Star to buy from us! WE NEED SALES!

Akira: So basically you're just here to advertise.

Meito: THIS IS MORE THAN JUST ADVERTISING! WE'RE SAVING THE SHOP, NO, THE EMPIRE OF ANIMATE FROM COLLAPSING AND CAUSING A WORLD WIDE DISASTER!!!

Total-Insanity-519: You do realize that in most countries, no one's even heard of Animate. And pretty much all the Otaku shop there anyway, so what's the point?

Meito: DO NOT USE THAT ATTITUDE! THAT IS LIKE SIGNALLING DEFEAT TO THE ENEMY!

Total-Insanity-519: What enemy?

Meito: SAYING THERE IS NOTHING THAT YOU CAN DO IS LIKE GIVING UP ON A GAME BEFORE YOU START IT, ONLY BECAUSE IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD ON THE OUTSIDE! IT'S DESPICABLE!

Total-Insanity-519: Okay then, that's all the time we have today.

Meito: PLEASE, BUY OUR MERCHANDISE!!!

Total-Insanity-519: Please join us again next time!

Total-Insanity-519 and Akira: Bye-nii!

Meito: BYE-NIIIIIIII!!!!!!


	12. The Great Comiker Arc, part 3: COMIKET!

Total-Insanity-519: YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYZEZZZZZ! I made a long chapter (well, long for me.) I made this all in about three hours, so there might be a few mistakes. Please enjoy!

* * *

As soon as the crowds started to flood through the doors, Konata turned off her DS, and put it away, looking up excitedly, trying to see how far back they were.

"So _that's_ what it takes to get you off your games." Kagami said with a smirk.

After about 20 minutes, they finally got to the door.

"Is it just me, or did that take longer than last time?" Kagami asked.

"No, that's a normal wait time for us. Actually, I think it was a little faster than usual." Konata said casually. They went off to the side, while Soujirou headed for one of the various Hentai circles.

"Alright, here's your map of the target area, mission briefing, and ammo," Konata said, handing Kagami a hand drawn map of Comiket, with many colored arrows, and a small key scrawled at the top, a list of items to buy, and where to buy them, and a small wad of cash, "We'll regroup and set up temporary base here." Konata pointed to a small part of the map that didn't have any circles near it. "And share our progress. From there, we'll go on recon, to make sure we didn't miss any spoils. At 0400 hours, we'll pack up our gear, and mingle with the locals. After that, we'll go back to home base, relax, and wait for night to come. Understand?" Konata finished explaining. Kagami had lost track halfway through.

"Roger, General Nutcase." Kagami said, saluting Konata.

"Break!" Konata said, heading away.

"Break? I thought she was talking military." Kagami said with an amused smile, heading for the nearest site marked on Konata's map. She worked her way through the crowd, and managed to get to the circle, which had books entitled "The Far Away Moon Saga"

"What a cliché title. Whatever, it's Konata's money." Kagami said, buying two copies (Konata's list of books said to buy at least two copies of each, unless she marked otherwise.)

She proceeded to each of the circles, usually taking anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 to get to a line, only to wait another 10 to 20 minutes before she got there.

"This is going to be a long day…"

…

As Konata walked through the crowds, occasionally getting tossed and bumped by people, due to her being too short for the crowd to see, it took her a slightly longer time than Kagami to get to each mission objective. By the time she had managed to get the first few items on her list, it was time to meet with Kagami. After about 20 minutes of fighting the crowds, she finally managed to get to the place she had pointed out to Kagami.

"Late as usual Konata." Kagami greeted her, who had already sat down, and was reading a book she had packed.

"Well, I had a hard time getting through the crowd." Konata said with a small smile.

"Yeah, that doesn't seem surprising for someone like you." Kagami said with a smirk.

Konata and Kagami huddled together, showing what they had managed to purchase, and what they had left. After they finished, they unpacked the small lunch of energy bars and cold coffee. As they ate, Konata thought she could faintly hear: "I wasn't doing anything! Honest! Konata, help me!"

But she listened for another few seconds, and she came to the conclusion that she imagined it. She felt that she had a very specific imagination.

After they finished "lunch" they said their goodbyes, and began to look for the next few items, on their lists.

Kagami decided to go to another circle near where she was. For some reason, this name seemed familiar to her. She got in line, which was surprisingly short. After a minute of waiting, she finally found out why it seemed familiar. The book she was looking at had two boys on the cover, one with his arms bound over his head, the other with his arms around the boy in chains.

"So, we meet again my old foe. I see you've improved. Well, I'm ready for you this time!" Kagami said defiantly, picking up the book. She managed to get through the first few pages, but from there, it started getting intense. Intense enough that it was taking most of her will power not to pass out from all the blood in her face. She just barely managed to finish the book with a triumphant "Ha!" before she had to turn the cover away, and buy it before she passed out.

"Thank you for your patronage." The woman said kindly as she handed the book bag in a small plastic bag.

"N-no problem." Kagami said shakily, walking away quickly.

…

After a few hours of troubled searching, waiting, and buying doujinshi, Konata and Kagami met at the front of the Big Sight. After a few minutes of waiting, and wondering where Soujirou was, their question was answered.

"Konata Izumi, please report to the security center to pick up your father, Konata Izumi, to the security center."

"Oh, Dad." Konata sighed.

"I can't say that I'm surprised." Kagami said.

"Let's go." Konata said, grabbing her things, and heading towards where the map said it was.

"Oh, Konata, thank god!" Soujirou said thankfully. He was being flanked by two large bodyguards.

"What'd you do this time Dad?"

"Two cosplayers reported this man as stalking them throughout the day. They asked him repeatedly to leave, but he continued to dog them wherever they went.

"I just wanted a picture with them! They wouldn't even talk to me, so I had to get their attention!" Soujirou tried to explain.

"Oh, you got their attention. You also got yourself banned from the rest of this Comiket."

"W-what?" Soujirou asked, a terrified look on his face.

"You heard me. We have your picture on file, and if we catch you here again you'll be banned from _all _future Comikets." The guard said angrily.

"Y-you can't do that! Comiket is too important to me!" Soujirou pleaded.

"Well then, I suggest you stay away." The guard said, pushing Soujirou towards Konata and Kagami.

"B-but-"

"Dad, just leave it. Don't get into anymore trouble." Konata said forcefully.

"I'm sorry, but you have to leave now. Comiket is closing." One of the guards said, showing them out.

"Yes sir." Kagami said politely, leading them out, and finding the exit in the now thinned out crowd.

As soon as they were out, Konata turned on her dad.

"Dad! What were you thinking?!" She said angrily.

"Well, I just-"

"What are you going to do now? We still have two days in that hotel, and you got banned from Comiket!"

"Calm down Konata! I'll think of something, don't worry! For now, let's just grab some dinner, and go home for some relaxation." Soujirou said soothingly.

Konata reluctantly agreed.

"Wow Konata, I'm surprised." Kagami said on the way home.

"About what?" Konata asked, still somewhat moodily.

"I've never seen you this serious before." Kagami said with a hint of awe in her voice.

"Well, Comiket has always been important to my Dad and me. He's taken me here since I was a little girl. And he and my Mom went here together since they were little kids. So if he gets banned forever, then not only will he be banned from where he and Mom spent so much time together, but I won't be able to either, because I won't have an adult to get me here!" Konata said indignantly.

"But aren't you 18?" Kagami asked.

"… Oh yeah…" Konata said.

"Konata, you're still an idiot." Kagami said with a sigh.

After they got back to the hotel, Kagami turned on the lights (which only gave off a dim light) and turned on the small T.V. that was near the bed.

Kagami heard Konata sigh.

"Still upset?" Kagami asked.

It had been about another hour after they had left, so it was around 6:00. Normally, that would still be considered early. But since they had to wake up early for Comiket (Although not as early as that morning, since there's less of a commute) they would only have an hour or two until they had to call it a night.

"Sort of, yeah. I just wish my Dad would grow up sometimes." Konata said, almost sadly, but not quite.

"That's what I constantly think about you." Kagami said.

"Well I'm just a young girl, still look like an elementary schooler, so I can be immature if I want." Konata said proudly.

"If that's how you want to look at it." Kagami said, flipping through the channels. She was revolted to see that most of them were pornos.

"Don't bother looking for something you'd like. I've already searched them before. They can't afford any real channels, so they but a bunch of pornos, and show them non-stop to all of the rooms." Konata said expertly.

"I'm afraid to ask how you know that." Kagami said, flicking off the T.V.

"We've stayed here since I was little." Konata reminded her.

"Seriously? Your Dad has no shame if he can take a little girl here." Kagami said disappointedly.

"You're just figuring it out now, that my Dad has no shame?" Konata asked.

"I guess so." Kagami said, pulling out a book.

"Gah, the lights are too dim to read this one." Kagami said disappointedly. Indeed, the text was so small, and hard to read, that the pathetic lighting didn't make it easy to read.

"Well then how about we play a game?" Konata asked.

"What kind of game?" Kagami asked.

"Strip poker!" Konata cheered.

"No! And don't say it so loud. Who knows who could here us." Kagami said suspiciously.

"Oh don't worry. These walls are made thick to hide the, uh… Various noises that people make." Konata assured her.

"This place is sick. I don't even want to sleep on the bed, knowing what people have done on there." Kagami said in a disgusted voice.

"Oh don't worry, they wash and replace them every few months." Konata said casually.

"And how much you know about this stuff makes me feel weird too." Kagami pointed out.

"Well, I felt just like you once. I wanted to know why my Dad made me come to this place. So after I learned everything I could, I just got used to it." Konata explained.

"Oh…" Kagami said quietly.

"So… If you don't want to play Strip Poker, do you want to play regular Poker?" Konata asked.

"What would we use for betting?" Kagami asked.

"How about our clothes?" Konata suggested.

"That's the same thing!" Kagami said.

"Well, if you look at it from a technical point of view, than yeah. How about this then. We don't play poker, but go fish. If I win, then we sleep how I want, but if you win, we sleep how you want."

"Fine. But you're lucky I'm bored." Kagami agreed.

"Knowing Kagamin, she'll probably just lose on purpose, just to make me happy." Konata said teasingly.

"You wish." Kagami said, as Konata dealt her hand.

…Seven rounds of Go Fish later…

"I lost… All seven times! How?!" Kagami asked angrily.

"You know the bet. We sleep how I want." Konata said with a large, perverted grin.

"Fine… But If you even try to touch me anywhere I don't want, you're going through the window." Kagami warned.

"We don't have a window." Konata reminded her.

"Then you'll go straight through the wall." Kagami said threateningly.

"Okay, okay… I'm gonna go take a bath." Konata said suddenly.

"Alright, whatever." Kagami said.

After about twenty minutes, Konata came back out. Kagami looked up, and immediately looked away. Konata was standing there, naked except for a towel only covering her waist down, sopping wet and smiling.

"I'm ready for bed Kagamin!"

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: Yes! I am done for tonight! And I have to agree with Konata, I am ready for bed!

Akira: What the hell is with that ending you pervert!

Total-Insanity-519: Oh shut up. You just don't understand the finer points of writing a yuri fanfiction. You have to have a little bit of perversion to spice things up.

Akira: Right... Or you're just a pervert.

Total-Insanity-519: Well, I'll just leave that question dangling for my readers to think about between my chapters. And now, for the traditional exciting ending.

Akira:... Well?

Total-Insanity-519: With that question hanging in the air, it leads to so many more. Will Konata make a move? Will Soujirou try to fight his banishment from his beloved Comiket? Am I really just a pervert? Stay tuned for the answers to these questions and more.

Next time, on Caught on the Rebound! "The Great Comiket arc: part 4"

Both: Bye-Nii!


	13. The Great Comiket Arc, part 4: Morning

Total-Insanity-519: YES! FINALLY DONE!

* * *

"I'm ready for bed Kagamin!"

"..."

"Eh?" Konata said, confused for a second at the lack of reaction.

"No. Just... No." Kagami said, turning away, hiding the large blush that was rapidly spreading across her face.

"Hmm?" Konata said slyly, a smile spreading across her face. "Is Kagamin going to break her promise? That's not very honorable."

"Not very what?" Kagami asked, surprised by the unexpected words.

"Honorable. Isn't your family all about that kind of stuff? It wouldn't be very good to do that to your family." Konata said happily.

"Well it's not nearly as 'dishonorable' as sleeping with another girl. Especially a pervert like you who's almost guaranteed to grope me in my sleep." Kagami retorted. "And besides, I said I'd share a bed with you. I said nothing about sleeping naked." Kagami said huffily

"But you did say that we could sleep how I wanted."

"Do you really think I would have accepted if I had known you would've wanted this?" Kagami asked.

"Hm, good point. Well it was worth a try." Konata said with a shrug. She pulled on the robes she had brought with her.

"What? That's it?" Kagami said, expecting more of an argument.

"Well yeah. I mean it's obvious you don't want to sleep with me like that. I know that you hate the thought of it, so I'll just-"

"H-hey, wait a minute! You're making it sound as if _I'm_ the bad guy. Besides, I never said I would hate it... I just, didn't think it would be a good idea." Kagami said guiltily.

"Why, would it be too hard to resist me."

"You have no idea." Kagami mumbled under her breath.

"What was that Kagamin?" Konata asked.

"N-nothing. Anyway, I suppose if it would really make you _that _happy, I wouldn't mind... sleeping with you... naked." Kagami said, losing nerve before she could even finish the sentence.

"Yay!" Konata said, glomping Kagami. They landed on the floor, and immediately Kagami started stuttering.

"K-KONATA! Get off me!" She said angrily.

"Aww, am I making you nervous?" Konata said, noticing that Kagami was doing her best to look anywhere but at Konata.

"Well DUH! Now get off of me you little pervert!" Kagami said, pushing Konata off of her, by grabbing her arms, arms and half-throwing her to the side.

"Aw, I think Kagami might have gotten a little pleasure from that." Konata said teasingly, bending over to pick up her towel, and purposely giving Kagami a view.

Kagami looked away.

"Look. If we're going to wake up early for Comiket tomorrow, then we need to go to sleep. Just... Just get in bed, and keep the covers. I'll just use the blanket." Kagami said.

To her surprise, Konata obeyed, and snuggled up under the covers.

Kagami reluctantly stripped down, and slipped in to bed, drawing the blankets up to her shoulders. Despite the close proximity between them, Konata was good to her word, and didn't sneak any gropes. In fact, within ten minutes, Kagami could hear the girl snoring. And so, the slow, rhythmic breathing of the small girl lulled Kagami to sleep.

...

_"K-Konata..."_

_It was white... but it was black._

_"Where... Did you go?"_

_There was nothing there to surround her... But she was surrounded... By nothing..._

_"Why can't I... Where..."_

_As incoherent thoughts took over her brain, she could no longer fathom anything that was happening, anything around her, or the nothingness that consumed her._

_And then... A song..._

_Nazonazo mitai ni chikyuugi wo tokiakashitara_  
_Minna de doko made mo ikeru ne_

_"Haruhi? Wait a minute..."_

_It was so familiar, and as soon as she heard it, her mind cleared. Just enough to realize where she knew it from._

"Konata!"

Kagami sat straight up, her heart pounding, and she looked around the room. Konata wasn't next to her. She panicked, but was calmed when she heard a flushing sound.

Kagami lay back down, and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep as Konata climbed into bed next to her.

Kagami felt the bed shift, and slowly began to drift back to sleep, her dream fading from her memory.

...

Beep beep beep beep beep

Kagami cracked her eye lids open just enough to see a dim light. It was a cell phone, blinking bright light, in time with the beeping.

_"Alarm clock"_ Kagami thought groggily. She attempted to sit up, but felt herself being weighed down. She looked to her side, and saw Konata, with her arms and legs wrapped tightly around Kagami.

It took a second for this to register in Kagami's mind, but when it did, it hit hard.

"K-Konata!" She gasped, trying to push away, but accidently falling off the bed, with Konata still hanging onto her.

When she opened her eyes again, her heart began pounding in her chest.

Konata was beneath her, in an 'indecent' position. And what was worse, was that her eyes were open. And a smile was already on her face.

"My my Kagamin, if you wanted this that bad, you could have just said so. We would've had all night to-"

"Sh-shut it!" Kagami said blushing hard, standing up. Konata was still smiling.

"W-what do you want?" Kagami asked angrily, suddenly noticing that she was still naked. She covered herself up.

"Nothing." Konata said teasingly, pulling her robe on, while Kagami did the same.

"Just shut up, and turn your phone off." Kagami said.

When both of them had dressed (Kagami had taken her clothes into the bathroom, and changed in there to avoid anymore awkward situations,) the two walked down to the lobby, where Soujirou was waiting for them.

"Morning Dad." Konata said happily, seeming to have forgotten her with her dad.

"Good morning girls." Soujirou said sadly. He, apparently, hadn't forgotten anything.

"... Well, who wants to go get breakfast?" Kagami asked.

"Sure." Konata said happily.

The three found a restaurant, ate, and when Soujirou had paid, the girls said goodbye, and headed for Comiket.

"Oh, and be careful girls. It always get dangerous around Comiket. And they say that there have been a lot of accidents around here lately.

"Well, I think this day has gone well so far." Konata said happily, as they went to the back of the massive line once again.

"Shut up." Kagami said.

"Whatever you say, child molester." Konata said with a grin.

"Hey, it's not my fault. You were already clinging to me, and it was an accident when we fell of the bed." Kagami said defensively.

"I know, I know. But Kagamin's so cute when she embarrassed, I just can't help it." Konata said.

"Eh... Oh..." Kagami said, not trusting herself to speak.

"Hn hn." Konata giggled, taking out her DS, and waiting for Comiket to open.

... 35 minutes later ...

"I swear, that took twice as long as yesterday." Kagami said bitterly.

"Don't give me back talk soldier!" Konata said loudly.

"Oh God, not this again." Kagami said with a face palm.

"You know the mission cadet! I've given you all the resources I can. The rest is up to you! Break!"

"Seriously, why do you keep saying 'Break'? If you're talking army, then don't use sports terms." Kagami said.

"No sass soldier! Now get out their!"

*sigh* "Whatever Sergeant Lunatic." Kagami said, walking away.

After several boring hours of pure uneventfulness, Kagami managed to find the place where Konata was waiting for her. And, sitting next to Konata, was Hiyori and Patty.

"Oh, what are you two doing here?" Kagami asked in surprise.

"Well, I'm selling some of my work. Patty's my assistant." Hiyori explained.

"I promised I would stop by while I was here." Konata said, reading some of Hiyori's manga, which featured strangely familiar green-and-red-haired girls. The four talked while they ate, and when it was about time to say goodbye, Hiyori snapped her fingers.

"Oh, I just remembered Konata-sempai. There's someone who's helping me, who says she knows you." She told Konata.

"Hm? Someone who knows me?" Konata asked.

"Yeah. Here, I'll show you." Hiyori said, leading them to her circle. As they approached, they heard someone call:

"Konata!"

Konata gasped.

"Tama-chan?"

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: And so, a new challenger, I mean rival, I mean... well, you know what I mean... Anyway, a new character makes her appearance! What will happen? Will Konata's old friend replace her new friends? Will she and Kagami get along? Will I update before Halloween? Will I even update before the New Year? Find out the answer to these questions (maybe) next time!

Akira: Oh great, he's back.

Total-Insanity-519: Oh, like I'm thrilled to see you.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: HELLO FAITHFUL READERS!

Total-Insanity-519: Who let him back in here?

MEITO ANIZAWA!: THAT'S RIGHT, THE EVER PASSIONATE METIO ANIZAWA HAS RETURNED! IN HONOR OF THE COMIKET SETTING OF THIS STORY AND I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I WILL BE APPEARING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Total-Insanity-519: I never said that!

MEITO ANIZAWA!: BUT IT WOULDN'T BE COMIKET WITHOUT ONE OF THE MAJOR ANIME/MANGA COMPANIES THERE TO LEAD THE SHOW!

Total-Insanity-519: Look, if you leave now, I'll give you a small appearance. Just please, stop breaking in here. You're yelling is giving me migraines.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: YES SIR!

Total-Insanity-519: I SAID STOP YELLING!

MEITO ANIZAWA!: YES SIR!

Total-Insanity-519: GUARDS!

Akira: Uh oh, it looks like the mean old people are arguing about me again! But I've come to expect it by now!

Total-Insanity-519: Take her too!

Akira: What the hell! LET GO OF ME! I'VE GOT LAWYERS, AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM!

MEITO ANIZAWA!: I WILL RETURN! WATCH FOR ME! WAIT FOR ME!

Total-Insanity-519: OUT!

Minoru: ...

Total-Insanity-519: You too.

Minoru: *shrug* Okay.

Total-Insanity: *sigh*... Anyway. Stay tuned, for the fifth, and final chapter of "The Great Comiket Arc," next time, on Caught on the Rebounds.

...

Total-Insanity-519: Bye-nii.


	14. The Great Comiket Arc, part 5: Finale!

Total-Insanity-519: WHOOOOOOOO! I just found out from my traffic report thingymagig that not only did I get over 72 people to read my latest chapter in the first day alone, I also found out that I'm an international star! I FEEL SO LOOOOVVVVVEEDDDDD! The list of countries/Islands/whatever else you want to be called, includes United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Russian Federation, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, New Zealand, Sweden, Indonesia, Chile, Finland, France, and Argentina. Thank you to all my foreign homies! I like to think of us as one big multi-lingual, multi-cultural family! I doubt you think of me like that, but I don't care what you think! jk, you rock, and to celebrate, I'm actually updating on time! YAY! So thanks for reading my story, and here's the Grand Finale of "The Great Comiket Arc"

Akira: Just get on with it already!

Total-Insanity-519: Yeah yeah.

* * *

"Konata!"

"Tama-chan?"

Konata gasped in surprise as a girl ran from behind the table to embrace her.

"It's been so long!" The girl said happily.

When she released her, Konata got a better look at her old friend.

She had grown quite a lot. She had short, dark black hair, held back in a mini-ponytail with a small gold bell. She had traded in her old glasses for contact lenses. Her eyes were a deep blue, and they were almost glowing with excitement. And most noticeable of all (at least to Konata) was that gone was the flat chest of the little girl, and replacing it was a fully, extremely well developed chest of a 17 year old who was almost finished with High School.

"T-tama-chan! W-why are you here?" Konata asked in bewilderment, words almost failing her.

"Hiyori-chan and I met at a convention a few years ago, and we worked on a few manga together." Tama-chan said with a smile.

"How come I never heard about this?" Konata asked.

"How was I supposed to know that you guys knew each other? And besides, I only met you this year." Hiyori said defensively.

After they finished talking, Tama turned to look at Kagami.

"Oh, I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Kagami." She said, shaking Tama's hand.

"Kagamin's my girlfriend." Konata said with a smile.

A few seconds later, multiple heads had bruises, two streams of blood were pouring from two heads, and two girls were crying.

Hiyori had gotten a massive nosebleed, and fallen to the floor in a semi-blissful coma. Konata had had her head whacked by a blushing Kagami.

"Don't make stuff up. Especially when it concerns friends." She said angrily.

"Umm... So, who are you again?" Tama asked, confused.

"I'm just a friend." Kagami said with a smile.

"She vicious." Konata mumbled, nursing her wound.

"If I'm so horrible, why don't you stop trying to convince me to go with you everywhere?" Kagami asked.

"Well if I'm as annoying as you say, why don't you just stop talking to me?" Konata countered, seemingly recovered from her injury.

"You keep asking that, and I can never answer." Kagami said sadly.

"Oh, so you're _that_ kind of friend." Tama said in an understanding voice, a smile and a small giggle escaping from her lips.

"Eh, what do you mean, _that _kind of friend?" Kagami asked.

"Nothing. So how long have you two known each other?" Tama asked.

"Since Freshman year." Kagami answered shortly.

"Well, technically, it was the summer before Freshman year. Tsukasa invited me over, and we met at your house." Konata corrected.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. You went into both of our rooms without permission, and you went through my manga collection. Not to mention my game collection, my computer, my closet, and every drawer of my dresser." Kagami said, as if remembering a fond memory. "Even back then, you were never very understanding of a thing called boundaries. Unfortunately, you still aren't." Kagami said with a smirk.

"We've been through this Kagamin, if I was really that bad, you wouldn't still be my friend."

Tama began to giggle as the two argued.

"They're just like I told you, aren't they?" Hiyori whispered in her ear.

"Yup. Best friends without a doubt." Tama said with a smile.

After they finished introducing themselves and talking, with Hiyori coming and leaving as customers came to make purchases, Konata decided that it was time to press forward.

"You go on ahead Konata. I'm almost finished with the list you gave me, so I'll just get it done tomorrow." Kagami told her.

"Really? Wow, you're faster than I am Kagamin." Konata said praisingly. It was the first time Kagami could remember that Konata actually compliments her in an actually serious way. Even a compliment that had to do with manga was good enough for Kagami, and she took it with a blush.

"Th-thanks."

"Well than, I'm off to spy on the enemy bases, and collect data! Wish me luck!" Konata said in an energetic voice, and once again vanished into the crowd of otaku.

"I'll never understand how she has so much energy."

"There's a lot of stuff about Konata that no one can understand. But that's what makes her Konata." Tama said affectionately.

"Now that you mention it..." Kagami said with a smile.

"Well, Comiket should be closing in a few hours. Do you want to stay here and talk while I help our customers?" Tama asked.

"Sure. It's more relaxing than wandering around this madhouse." Kagami said, following her behind the table, and sitting down.

"So Konata said you guys met when you were kids. What was Konata like when you guys were little?" Kagami asked.

"Basically the same as she is now." Tama said happily.

"Really? What were you like? I mean, Konata told us basically what you were like, but how did you and Konata meet, and what all did you do together?"

It turned out that Konata and Tama had met at the welcoming ceremony in Middle School. Konata had snuck off to play games while the assembly was going on, and she found Tama sitting by herself near the library.

When Konata offered to let Tama have a turn on her Gameboy, Tama had decided right there that Konata would be her friend.

After that, they found out they would be in the same class, so they decided to attend, even if only to talk to each other.

Tama began to come over to Konata's house, and they bonded over videogames, manga, and other things like that.

But when Tama's parents found out she had made friends with such "rejects" she had made sure to keep Tama away from Konata, and moved to Fukuoka. Because Tama's mom didn't approve of such 'perverted, tainted, things' like that. She believe it was impure, and sinful. Tama, also decided then, never get into religion, something that angered her mother very much. When her father refused to take sides, her mother became angry, and things escalated from there until they divorced, giving Tama's father custody over her.

"Wow, that's kinda depressing." Kagami said quietly, not really sure what else she could say without sounding mean.

"Yeah, but it's okay. My Dad's really nice, and he doesn't have a problem with my, um 'little hobby'" Tama said, still smiling.

"Well, that's good."

"Yup. Now, can I ask you a question?" Tama asked. Her eyes were a bit downcast.

"Sure. What is it?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I don't exactly know how else to ask it, but... Do you... Like Konata?" Tama asked apprehensively.

"Well yeah, I mean we're friends, aren't we?" Kagami said nonchalantly.

"No, I mean... Do you... Have a crush on her?" Tama asked bluntly.

"W-what? H-how did you- I mean, no, of course not!" Kagami said quickly, trying to cover up her blunder unsuccessfully.

"Heh, I knew it." Tama said brightly.

"H-how did you know?" Kagami asked, her eyes facing downward.

"It was the way you blushed when she complimented you. And the way you argue with each other over things like affection and stuff kind makes you sound... well like an old married couple. Kind of a cliche comparison, I know, but that's literally what I think of." Tama said with a smile.

"Oh great, so now I sound old, _and_ I have a crush on a psycho otaku." Kagami said with a sigh.

"Don't worry. I won't tell her." Tama said with a knowing smile.

"Really?" Kagami asked hopefully.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to do anything without you being okay with it. And besides..." Tama said, her smile fading a little bit.

"Hm? Besides what?" Kagami asked.

"Um, well... I... Kind of have a crush on her too." Tama said, not looking at Kagami.

"Y-you... You too huh?" Kagami asked, trying to keep her smile up."

"Yeah. I-I think I have since we first met." Tama said, a light blush on her face as well.

"Heh, I thought I was the only one who actually believed in love at first sight." Kagami joked.

"That makes two of us."

"..."

"..."

"So... Um..." Kagami said awkwardly.

"Listen. Kagami, I know you and Konata are close, and I know that there's a high chance that she likes you back. So, I'm going to be nice. We're friends now, so I want you to be happy. I'm going to give you a week to tell Konata how you feel. But, I've been ready to tell her how I felt for three years now, so if you don't tell her... then I will. But, you should tell her how you feel first."

"T-tama... Thank you. I'm glad that my rival is someone as nice as you." Kagami said, not looking at her, but meaning it.

"Don't worry. But I want to promise, that no matter what, we'll still be on friendly terms. Promise?"

"Promise. Something tells me I wouldn't be able to hate you if I wanted to." Kagami said, a smile on her face.

"Glad to hear it. Now if I were you, I'd start thinking about telling Konata soon." Tama reminded her.

Kagami blushed.

"Hmm... I guess you're right... Hmm..." Kagami said, going into overdrive, as Konata came back.

"Yo! I'm done for the day! Hey, what's wrong with Kagamin?" Konata asked, noticing the brooding girl.

"Nothing." Tama said with a smile.

...

After Comiket closed, Konata said goodbye to Hiyori, and walked with Tama and Kagami (who was still brooding about how to tell Konata her feelings) and met up with Soujirou near the entrance to Comiket.

"Oh, Uncle Soujirou!" Tama said affectionately, hugging him.

"Um, Konata who is this?" Soujirou asked in bliss.

"This is Tama. Remember her?" Konata said.

"Oh, Tama-chan! It's good to see you again. And, wow you've grown so much!" Soujirou said, actually managing to not sounded perverted despite the way that would normally have sounded coming from him.

"It's good to see you too." Tama said.

As the group waited at a crossing light, Kagami was still brooding, and she looked up. Konata was wearing an extremely happy smile, humming what was surely some anime song out loud, and Kagami couldn't help but me suddenly love struck by even this simple action. As her thoughts jumbled, the cross walk light turned green, and they walked out into the street. But to Konata's dismay, her bag split open, spilling all of her precious cargo. She cried out, and bent down to pick it all up. Tama and Kagami helped too, trying as fast as they could to pick up everything before the light changed. When Konata was sure she had everything packed up again (which caused her small backpack to be bulging) she thanked them, and ran for the sidewalk. While Kagami ran to catch up, she looked back, and noticed something they had missed. As she ran back to get it, she heard a loud honking noise.

The light had turned green, but the only light she saw was that of an oncoming truck, and the only thing she could feel was immense pain before collapsing onto the street. The only thing she could hear was Konata's yell, and the honking of traffic, and the last thing she thought of, was how she would be able to confess to Konata while she was in a coma.

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

Akira: So you finally decided to off one of the characters huh? About time.

Total-Insanity-519: I didn't kill her! And I know it was a bad ending, but I'd been planning on it for awhile. I hope that not too many of you try to kill me via flaming comments, but I swear it'll get better (eventually.) But I couldn't just keep it all happy. I had to throw in some bad stuff too, otherwise it'd get old really fast, and I'd run out of things to write about. I promise that in maybe 3 or 4 chapters, it'll be happy again, but until then, I should warn you to expect more bad news for Kagami and Konata.

Akira: Just admit it. You killed her.

Total-Insanity-519: NO I DIDN'T!

Akira: Aw, c'mon! She's been a bitch since episode one of the show, and still, no one's died! I WANNA SEE SOME DEATH!

Total-Insanity-519: No! And... Wait a minute, how'd you get back in here?

Akira: Oh, I bribed your guards with a promise to get them on the show.

Total-Insanity-519: It's so hard to find good help these days. Anyway, I hope you guys stay tuned (and please don't kill me!)

Next time on "Caught On The Rebounds!": Lacuna, part 1!

All: Bye-nii!


	15. Lacuna, part 1

Total-Insanity-519: Alright, another day, another chapter, and I'm only a few chapters away from finally completing this thing! It's been almost a year-and-a-half since I started. And hey, If I'm lucky, maybe I'll finish on the 19th, to make it exactly a year-and-a-half. Well, anyway, I just finished this chapter, so you had BETTER LIKE IT! jk, just read it, and review. Thanks!

* * *

Beep

...

Beep

...

Beep

...

As the slow, steady sound of Kagami's heart monitor beeped away each beat of her heart, Kagami lay there, still asleep, not aware of the people around her, nor the place she was in.

She wasn't aware that for 7 hours, Konata, Kagami's family, and even Tama had been keeping her company. She also wasn't aware that for the entire 11 hours, 38 minutes, and 12, 13, 14 seconds that she had been allowed visitors, Konata and Tsukasa had been the only two who had stayed at her side. And the thing that she wasn't aware of, was that Konata, who had been counting every painful second of the wait on the clock above Kagami's bed, was desperately trying to keep her mind off of the guilt that was eating her away.

She knew she had no reason to feel as much guilt as she did. It wasn't really her fault that the bag had split, or that Kagami had decided to go back and get the last piece of merchandise. But no matter what she told herself, or how many times she said it, the fact remained that none of this would have happened if she hadn't convinced Kagami to go to Comiket with her. It wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been obsessed enough to buy so much stuff. It wouldn't have happened if her bag hadn't split, if she hadn't let Kagami help, if she had gone back for it instead, or even if she had went back with Kagami. It wouldn't have happened without her, and it shouldn't have happened.

11 hours, 41 minutes, 23 seconds.

Konata looked around, as she shook herself awake. She didn't want to sleep, despite how tired she was. Tsukasa was sleeping in her chair, of course. This was much later than she was used to staying up. Kagami didn't seem to be in any pain. Her face was calm, not a smile or a frown, no grimaces of pain or fear. That was a good sign.

11 hours, 42 minutes.

Konata didn't know how to cope with this new found sense of loss. She had lost control of the situation. She had never felt more helpless. Because even though she hadn't always been in control, Kagami had always been there to keep her going. But now, not only did she lose any way of helping her friend, she had lost Kagami.

Not permanently lost her, of course. Kagami had broken only 5 different bones, which was a miracle considering the speed of the car, how hard she had landed, and how far she had rolled.

She had only broken 1 rib, her left shoulder, and two bones in her left arm when the car hit her, and only 1 rib had broken on impact and from rolling.

The doctor said it would take awhile for her to heal, probably anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on how fast a healer she was.

11 hours, 47 minutes, 53 seconds.

With Kagami in a coma, Konata felt like... Something was missing. She knew it was cliche, but that was the only thing she could accurately describe what she was feeling. If it had been anyone else who had been hit, Kagami would still be right there, trying to cheer Konata up, or at the very least, trying to convince Konata that it wasn't her fault.

But no one else could convince her of that. They all tried. Every one of the Hiiragi's assured her that they didn't blame her in the slightest. Tora had said that anyone would have gone back to get it, it was just Kagami's misfortune to have seen it first.

Nothing helped.

Without Kagami, there was... A gap, for lack of a better word. When she tried to think of what she had done recently that hadn't involved Kagami, something that could help her even a little to prepare for the worst... There was a gap. A gap in her memory so wide, that only a few nights, where she was talking to Yutaka, or someone else over the phone, that she had not been in constant contact with Kagami. That scared her. That someone had managed to become so much of her daily life, and she hadn't even noticed it.

11 hours, 52 minutes, 13 seconds.

Without Kagami, Konata would probably never have remained close friends with Tsukasa. They might have said hello to each other during class, maybe even talk a little bit, but Konata had had almost no interest in having friends, until she met Kagami when Tsukasa had invited Konata over as a thank you.

Konata would have continued her life of a loner otaku, only going to school because of the law, failing her classes unless motivated by one of her father's bribes, spending days and nights alone, playing games, reading manga, watching anime, and never really keeping in contact with anyone but her father and her online game buddies. But even they weren't real friends. Fake names, fake people in a fake world that allowed lonely people to meet other lonely people.

11 hours, 55 minutes, 45 seconds.

Konata didn't like where her train of thoughts was heading. She was slowly breaking herself down, lowering her guard and defenses, letting her emotions and negative feelings get the better of her. She didn't want to let anyone see this part of her. The lonely, guilty, sad girl. She didn't want to break down and cry on someone's shoulder, or to confide in anyone, as she had seen so many times in anime.

11 hours, 57 minutes, 6 seconds.

Konata's shifted her thoughts away from where they were, to a more positive tone. She began to think of what she could do, to make this up to Kagami when she woke up. She could thank her, (obviously, it was the least she could do) apologize... What else? She didn't even know much about what Kagami liked, besides certain video games, homework, and pocky.

That was it! Pocky!

...

No, that was stupid.

11 hours, 59 minutes, 48 seconds.

Konata thought more of what she would do to make this up to Kagami.

11 hours, 59 minutes, 53 seconds.

She would do her homework by herself

11 hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds.

She would go out for sports.

11 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds.

She would quit making anime references out of everything.

11 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds.

She would never tease her again.

11 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.

She would tell her...

12 hours...

Kagami's eyes opened.

"Hmm...? Where am I?" She mumbled groggily. She winced in pain as she tried to sit up.

"K-Kagami!" Konata gasped, startled.

"What the..." Kagami asked incoherently.

"Tsukasa! Tsukasa wake up!" Konata said, going to the sleeping girl, and trying to shake her awake.

"Tsukasa, Kagami's awake!" Konata continued. For once, Tsukasa's eyes shot open.

"What!" She asked, suddenly. She looked over at Kagami.

"Onee-chan!" She cried happily, going to hug her older sister. But Konata stopped her.

"Broken bones, remember?" Konata pointed out.

"Oh yeah... But... Oh, Onee-chan, I'm so glad you're awake!" Tsukasa said, tears forming.

"Y-yeah..." Konata said, not trusting herself to speak as she held back tears.

"U-um... Thanks Tsukasa... But, where am I? What happened?" Kagami asked.

"You got hit by a car, Onee-chan. You were helping Konata, and it just came out of nowhere." Tsukasa explained.

"Oh... Two more questions." Kagami said.

"Okay."

"Who's Konata?" She asked. Konata's heart froze, as Kagami turned to her.

"And... who are you?"

* * *

_Lacuna: The Latin word meaning a gap, or something missing._

Total-Insanity-519: So, I'll elaborate more on the "Lacuna" thing next time. I take it I don't have to explain the main thing it's referring to.

Akira: That was so cheesy.

Total-Insanity-519: That's never gotten in the way before.

Akira: All of your chapters are cheesy! It's like every other fucking story, except you throw in random stuff to make it seem like you have a plot!

Total-Insanity-519: And that's all the time we have today!

Akira: Hey! Don't cut me off! I'm not done criticizing you yet!

Total-Insanity-519: Don't worry, you'll get a better chance next time.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: HELLO! I HAVE RETURNED!

Total-Insanity-519: Oh god-

MEITO ANIZAWA!: THANK YOU!

Total-Insanity-519: Why did I ever have him in here in the first place?

MEITO ANIZAWA!: TODAY, OUR SPECIAL GUEST WILL BE TAMA!

Total-Insanity-519: Oh, yeah.

Tama: Hi!

Audience: BOOO!

Tama: W-What? What did I do?

Total-Insanity-519: They're all pissed because you're trying to steal Konata away.

Tama: B-but, that's not my fault! I didn't even really exist until you brought me into the story! And besides, I'm giving Kagami a chance, aren't I?

Total-Insanity-519: We'll see... I have some plans that the audience probably is gonna hate you even more for.

Tama: What!

Total-Insanity-519: And to tide over their hatred for the time being... *hands Tama a red target sign, and a shield.* You're gonna need these.

Tama: W-why?

Total-Insanity-519: ALRIGHT EVERYBODY, COME AND GET HER!

Tama: Wait!

Audience: MUST KILL TORAAA!

Tama: AAAAAAHHHH! *runs off the stage*

*Audience follows her*

*Distant gun shots*

Total-Insanity-519: I think that went well.

Akira: Me too. It's always nice to see angry raging fans attack someone else.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: INDEED!

Total-Insanity-519: Do you even have a lower volume setting?

MEITO ANIZAWA!: ONLY LOUD AND MUTE!

Total-Insanity-519: I think I prefer mute. *turns him to mute*

Meito Anizawa: ...

Akira: Aahh, that's better.

Total-Insanity-519: Agreed. Well, that really is all the time we have. See you next time, on "Caught on the Rebounds!" Lacuna, Part 2!


	16. Lacuna, part 2

Total-Insanity-519: Alright people, I have a major mistake I have to correct. For the past few chapters, I've been calling Tora by the wrong name. Her actual name is Tama (you know, Konata's old friend from chapter 2.) So I went back and changed every time I said "Tora" to "Tama." Although I'm surprised that no one noticed that and pointed it out. Of course, you might just not have known, or remembered who I was referring to. Anyway, now that that's out of the way, here's another chapter of "Caught on the Rebounds" focusing more on Konata's thoughts and feelings.

I hope you enjoy, and please remember to leave reviews!

* * *

Konata was, and always had been, a master at hiding her emotions. From when she started school, where she was teased for being the child of a pervert, and without a mother, to High School, where anything could happen, she always kept a lid on any serious emotion.

But even for her, this was almost too much.

"Who's Konata? And... Who are you?

Konata was... shocked, to say the least.

"W-what are you talking about? It's me, Konata, you're best friend." Konata said shakily, trying to convince herself that this was just a joke.

"Who? I don't remember you. Tsukasa, who is-"

"She's telling the truth Onee-chan." Tsukasa confirmed.

"But... Wait, if that's true... Than wouldn't that mean that I have amnesia? And if that's true, why do I still remember you?" Kagami asked, already reverting back to her old, logical self.

"I don't know." She said simply.

"Great. I'm an amnesiac, and I can't even tell who or what I don't remember." Kagami said, lying back on her bed.

"Well, do you remember Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yeah."

"Misao?"

"Unfortunately yes."

"Ayano?"

"Yup."

"Mom?"

"Yeah. Her, and Dad, and Inori, and Matsuri are all still there."

Konata was listening to this quietly. She was still... disturbed by Kagami forgetting her. Well, disturbed was just one of the emotions. She was upset, hurt, but what surprised her, was that she was even feeling angry. Angry at being the only one forgotten, and angry at herself for not considering the possibility of amnesia. Not mention, angry at the idiot driver who created this damn problem.

"So, exactly who are you again? Like, what were we before this happened?" Kagami asked Konata.

"Um... We were just friends." Konata anwered, not daring to go any farther. Because although she knew how to push Kagami's buttons, and could pretty much get away with anything after she had gotten to know her, she no longer knew how to act around Kagami. If she did anything to piss her off, Kagami wouldn't be as likely to forgive a total stranger as she would her best friend. And even if she had told Kagami that they were best friends, she still couldn't act like she used to. Kagami would wonder why she befriended such a strange girl.

Konata felt further away from Kagami than she ever had been before. Gone were the days when Konata could just do whatever she wanted, and not fear the consequences of Kagami's wrath. She would have to start over, but without even the advantage of having saved her sister.

Konata had to fight the urge to cry. It was like losing hours and hours of play time on a game right before you beat it, because of a power outage before you saved. She even felt a little guilty for comparing this to videogames. It was just a part of who she was.

"Well, um... I guess I'l leave now." Konata said softly.

"Huh? Why?" Kagami asked.

"Well, I was really just staying to make sure you were okay. And since you are, besides not remembering me, I don't really have anything to worry about." Konata lied through her teeth. She walked out, now trying desperately to keep from crying. This was another new experience for her. She had never felt even close to crying over something like this. This was so overpowering, so crushing, she wondered how she had cried for such things as not buying an anime, or not being able to do homework.

She heard Kagami say something to Tsukasa as she left. She wasn't sure what it was, and she didn't even attempt to think about as she ran to the entrance of the hospital before realizing that her dad had left hours ago, and would probably already be sleeping. Right now, she didn't care about waking her dad up.

She took out her cellphone, and dialed her house number.

_"riing, riing, riin- Hello?"_

"Dad?"

_"Konata? What's wrong?"_

"Can you come pick me up from the hospital? I know it's late, but... just, please can you come get me?" Konata asked.

_"Sure, I'll be there as soon as I can."_ Soujirou promised.

"Thanks Dad." Konata said quietly. She hung up, and found a bench to sit down on. As she sat down and looked around to make sure no one was there, a single tear slid down her cheek. This was all she would allow herself. Anymore would be like opening a flood gate, and she didn't want her dad or anyone who might arrive to see her mid-breakdown.

And so she sat there, trying to take her mind off of what was happening. After a little more than half-an-hour of trying to remember as many anime lyrics as she could, her dad pulled up.

Konata walked up, and got in the back seat.

"Konata? Are you okay?" Soujirou asked.

"Y-yeah... Actually, no. Kagami forgot who I am." Konata said quietly, as if the more quiet it was, the less true it would become.

Soujirou didn't say anything. He knew how much Kagami meant to his daughter. She had confided in him when she first decided that she didn't want to be just friends with Kagami. Of course, she never actually used the word 'love' but it was obvious by the way she had described the feelings.

_"It's like, every time she reacts to what I'm doing, I get really excited, and I want to keep going. It's almost always been like that, but now it's... it's more than just that."_

He had just smiled and nodded, understanding what she was talking about. Konata could really be a normal girl when it came to things like this.

Konata was silent the entire way home. Not wanting to talk, only sighing as she continued to remember the lyrics perfectly to every anime she could think of.

When they got there, Konata immediately headed for her room. She went in, locked the door, and sat on her bed. Not even bothering to turn on her computer for a late night gaming session, not turning on the light, or taking off her clothes to change into PJs, Konata just sat there staring, and waiting.

Finally, when she was sure that everyone had gone to sleep, she let her tears loose. She hid her face and her sobs in her pillow, as she finally let her emotions free.

From early childhood, to her teenage years, Konata had always put up with the things life threw at her. She never let on when thoughts of what a mother could be like came to her. She never let anyone know how much her friends meant to her. And she never once showed any sign of her distress at the multiple bullies she had put up with during Elementary and Middle school. Konata was truly a master at hiding her emotions.

But that didn't mean that she wanted to.

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: Alright, I know that was sad. But I promise that... after the next chapter, things will start getting better. And to make it up to you, I'm going to show you the most kick ass Konami AMV EVER!

.com/watch?v=ccD5jLFFTd4&feature=related

There. I hope that makes up somewhat for all the badness and the angst I've been putting into the last few chapters.

Akira: Geez, you're just an emo little ****er, aren't ya?

Total-Insanity-519: You know what, I've given up on trying to keep you out. It doesn't matter anymore, go ahead and say what you want.

Akira: Finally!

*Lucky Channel theme*

Akira: HI AGAIN! It's your lovely navigator Akira Kogami again, back with a new segment of LUCKY CHANNEL!

Minoru: And I'm her assistant Minoru Shiraishi.

Total-Insanity-519: Whatever...

MEITO ANIZAWA!: AND I'M AND THE FIERY SPIRITED ASSISTANT'S ASSISTANT: MEITO ANIZAWA!

Total-Insanity-519: You know what, screw it. I need some aspirin. I'll see you next time on "Caught on the Rebound" 10 second memories.


	17. Lacuna, part 3

Total-Insanity-519: Hey people! I back (finally)! I don't know why, but I've been in a slump. I've tried countless times to get this chapter going, but I continued to slump at a certain part. Then, just as I started to form ideas again, my laptop's hard drive practically melted down, and I had to have it repaired. After installing a new hard drive, re-installing all of the programs and documents I had lost, going through yet _another_ slump, and breaking my desk in half with my head, I finally wrote _this_. Hopefully, this will start to make up for all the time wasted, and I promise that another one will be out soon. But for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and that you continue to enjoy Caught on the Rebounds!

P.S. The reason this chapter has a different title than what I said, is because I was planning on doing something different for this chapter. But then it felt too rushed, so I decided to change it.

* * *

Kagami was let out with a cast on her arm, and a warning to not do anything that could injure her further.

She sat on her bed, and pulled out her diary. She had asked Tsukasa to bring it to her while she was in the hospital. If she could trust anyone with her diary, it was Tsukasa.

"_Dear Diary: Today, I was released from the hospital, and I can finally go back to school tomorrow. It was an __**extremely **__boring month in the hospital, and I still need to make sure that I didn't miss anything important in school while I was gone_… "

A knock came from the door.

"Onee-chan?"

"Yeah, Tsukasa?"

"Mom says you should go to sleep now. It's almost mid-night."

"Alright, thanks Tsukasa." Kagami said. Tsukasa closed the door.

Kagami sighed again, and she went back to her diary.

"_Although it is nice to be home, and to be able to go back to normal, there're some things that are bothering me. I still don't remember much about Konata. I have flashes of memories, and I think I sometimes dream about her, but I still don't remember anything important. And… Another thing: It's nice to be home, it really is… But something feels wrong… My room is different than it was before. Everyone agrees that Konata and I were friends… But I don't have any pictures of her. I have pictures of Miyuki and Misao and Ayano, but none of her. And there are parts of my wall that are blank. I don't understand, but I feel like I'm missing something else. Well, anyway, I guess that's it for tonight. Until tomorrow. Goodnight Diary,_

_Kagami Hiiragi."_

Kagami sighed, put her diary under her bed, and lay back on her bed. She clicked off the lights with the remote, and stared up at the dark ceiling, her thoughts chasing each other around her head. She sighed again.

"This can't be good for my health." She said quietly to herself, and she closed her eyes, drifting unsteadily into sleep.

…

That morning, Kagami woke up, got showered (her doctor had said that the cast was water proof) and got dressed with some help from Tsukasa. She was embarrassed that she need help for something as simple as getting dressed, but was thankful that it was Tsukasa who was helping.

After she ate breakfast (with some tricky maneuvers that she didn't even know were possible) Kagami headed out for the train station with Tsukasa.

"How does it feel to be out in the open again?" Tsukasa asked, as they boarded the train.

"Well, I can't really call this 'open.'" She said, as she was surrounded by strangers who were crowding on. "But it's nice to be out of the hospital. I was going stir crazy in there." Kagami said.

As they talked about small things, Kagami felt at home. This was what she remembered. Calm days with her sister and her friends, with the only thing she worried about being her weight.

They got off the train at their stop, and walked the rest of the way to school. They said goodbye as Tsukasa stopped in front of her class, and Kagami continued on.

"Yo, Hiiragi!" Came a loud voice as she walked into her room.

"Hey Misao." Kagami said, casually waving her hand.

"So you finally got out of the jail?" Misao asked.

"It looks like it." Kagami said with a smile.

"Where's Ayano?" She asked.

"She's forgot something at home, so she's waiting for her mom to bring it to her." Misao explained.

Kagami and Misao talked for a few minutes, with a few classmates welcoming Kagami back, exchanging greetings, and congratulating her on making a recovery.

Just as the bell rand, Ayano hurried into the class, carrying a bag.

"Oh, Hiiragi-san!" She said happily, hurrying over to Kagami's seat. She handed her the bag.

"This is a present for getting out of the hospital." Ayano said happily.

Kagami looked into the bag, and pulled out a stack of cookies, wrapped in clear plastic with a tag that read:

"Congratulations on making a full recovery,  
Ayano."

"Thanks Minegishi." Kagami said with a smile, struggling to smile as she remembered her strict diet. As if reading her mind, Ayano said "They're sugar free. And I used non-fat ingredients."

"Wow. Thanks." Kagami said with a smile.

She reached into the bag again, and pulled out a cellphone. It wasn't an expensive one, but a cheap disposable one.

"I heard your phone had been broken in the accident, so I thought you might like one until you get a permanent phone." Ayano said with a smile.

Kagami thought back. She hadn't thought about her phone. She didn't even know she had it on her. But then again, she had been told that her phone couldn't be found at the scene of the accident, so she assumed it had been crushed or something and the bits had been blown away.

It was a sad image, especially since she had had the phone for a long time. She managed _not _to destroy her phone on a weekly basis. But she was still glad she had a good friend who thought of things like this for her.

"Thanks Ayano. I didn't even think of my phone until now. It's a good thing you did, or else I might have been in trouble later." Kagami thanked her.

"I already put in my and Misa-chan's numbers, just in case." She said happily.

"Alright class, sit down." The teacher said loudly, trying to quiet the class. Ayano smiled and hurried to her seat.

Kagami smiled back, put the phone away, and began to listen as the teacher started to lecture them.

…

When lunch came around, there was a large clatter of noise as the student got up to sit with each other, and to go to the cafeteria.

"Did you have any trouble Hiiragi-san?" Ayano asked.

"No, thanks to your notes." Kagami said with a smile. She had been borrowing Ayano's notes at the end of each week, so that she could keep up with her school assignments. School work was the one thing that kept her mind busy enough so that she wouldn't go crazy with boredom.

Kagami got up and headed to the cafeteria by herself (Ayano and Misao decided to have lunch in the classroom.) She found Tsukasa, Miyuki, and Konata, and took a seat.

"What's up guys?" She asked, unwrapping the bento that Tsukasa had somehow made the night before, despite coming home at midnight.

"Welcome back Kagami-san." Miyuki said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Hey Kagami." Konata said, trying to sound casual.

"Hey… Konata." Kagami said, also trying to sound normal.

There was an awkward silence, in which everyone ate their own lunches. Miyuki and Tsukasa glanced at each other.

"So…" Kagami said, trying to think of a topic to break the silence. She couldn't think of anything.

After a few minutes of silence, Kagami started to talk with Miyuki, and Konata talked to Tsukasa.

The rest of the lunch hour passed like this, and when the bell rang, Kagami quickly said goodbye, trying her best not to seem too awkward.

She couldn't take this kind of awkwardness. If she had to put up with this every day until graduation, she was going to go insane.

Kagami sat down, sighed quietly, and once again took out her notebook. However, now her mind was on something else.

After the bell rang, and Kagami put away her hardly used notes, she steeled her courage, and headed for her sister's classroom.

She let the stream of students dissipate before she approached the door. When she went in, Tsukasa, Miyuki and Konata were talking, and getting ready to leave. They looked up when Kagami came in.

"Hey Onee-chan." Tsukasa said with a smile.

"Oh, it's you." Said a girl who Kagami didn't recognize.

"Huh? Who are you?" Kagami asked.

"Huh? What do you mean? It's me, Tama."

"Sorry. I don't know you." Kagami said, feeling slightly guilty. Were there more things that she didn't remember, that she wasn't aware of?

"Anyway. Um… Konata? Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked, using every ounce of her astounding resolve that made her so famous for getting her work done.

"Uh, sure." Konata said, a surprised look on her face. Kagami led Konata to a now vacant classroom.

"Um… Listen Konata, I know that we were friends before." Kagami began. Konata just listened, without saying anything.

"But, I don't remember anything about that. I know it must be pretty awkward to talk to me now that I don't know who you are… But…" Kagami paused.

"But I'd like it if you could just talk to me how you would normally." She finished.

"What?" Konata asked in shock. She was expecting Kagami to say "Please leave me alone." or "Please forget about me." or something like that.

"Well, I don't want to lose a friend because of something like this. And I think that maybe if you act like you always do, it might jog my memory." Kagami explained.

"Well, you'd probably be weirded out by how I am normally." Konata said, rubbing her head.

"That's fine. I'll put up with anything. I just want things to go back to normal. So, it's fine, whatever you might be like normally. I promise, I won't think you're weird or crazy or anything." Kagami promised.

"Well, that's not going back to normal then." Konata said with a guilty smile. "Since you always tell me how weird or crazy I am."

"Oh… Then, I'll just try not to get too weirded out." Kagami said, with a smile.

Konata smiled, and she fought back a tear of happiness.

"Yes Ma'am!" She said, saluting Kagami.

Kagami looked surprised. But she started to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Konata asked.

"It's nothing… You just… You weren't kidding when you said you were weird, were you?" Kagami asked, a smile on her face as she started to laugh.

"It's not _that _weird. You should see some of the things I do when we're hanging out with everyone." Konata said defensively.

"I look forward to it." Kagami said, imitating Konata, and saluting her. They both stopped…

And broke into laughter.

When Kagami and Konata went back to the classroom, Tsukasa and Miyuki were waiting for them, but Tama had left.

"Alright then, should we go?" Kagami asked Tsukasa.

"Alright Onee-chan." Tsukasa nodded.

"I'm afraid my mother is picking me up today, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow Kagami-san, Tsukasa-chan, Konata-san." Miyuki said with a smile.

"Bye Yuki-chan."

"Seeya tomorrow Miyuki-san."

"Bye Miyuki."

And with that, Miyuki split ways with Kagami, Konata, and Tsukasa, who headed for the train station.

Konata, who was secretly overjoyed with being able to talk to Kagami normally, began to talk about a new game that she was saving up for.

Kagami on the other hand, just nodded and smiled.

Everything was back to normal.

"_Or at least, as normal as I can remember." _ She thought to herself.

"Alright, this is our stop." Kagami said, as the train began to slow down.

"I guess we'll talk to you later." She said, as she and Tsukasa parted ways with Konata.

"Bye Kagamin." Konata said with another smile.

"Seeya tomorrow." Kagami responded with a smile of her own.

…

That night, when Kagami was getting ready for bed, Tsukasa came in.

"Hey, Tsukasa." Kagami said casually.

"I just wanted to say Good Night Onee-chan!" Tsukasa said with an innocent smile.

"Oh, good night." Kagami said, as she combed her hair.

"Hey Onee-chan?" Tsukasa said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Did you and Kona-chan make up or something?" She asked.

"Well, not really 'made-up', but something like that. Why?" Kagami asked.

"Oh nothing, you two just seemed really happy when you came back." She said with a smile.

"Well, yeah we kind of made-up." Kagami confirmed.

"Alright. Well, good night, Onee-chan." Tsukasa said finally, closing the door as Kagami said "Good Night" and walking back to her room.

Kagami once again lay in her bed, turned off the lights, and stared at the dark ceiling. She smiled.

Finally, everything was back to normal.

* * *

Akira: LUCKY CHANNEL! Hiya luckies! It's your fabulous hostess Akira Kogami, back at the wheel! We're sorry for the delay, but our idiot author was being... well an idiot. But now we're finally back!

MEITO ANIZAWA!: YES! FIERY SPIRIT AND PASSION HAS FINALLY TRIUMPHED, AND GIVEN US YET ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THIS BELOVED STORY!

Total-Insanity-519: Hey there fans! ... Wait a minute, didn't I mute you?

MEITO ANIZAWA!: I FOUND THE REMOTE!

Total-Insanity-519: *swipes the remote* Mute.

Meito Anizawa: ...

Total-Insanity-519: Much better.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: HA HA HA! DO NOT THINK I WILL BE DEFEATED WITH SUCH TACTICS TWICE!

Total-Insanity-519: How did you-

MEITO ANIZAWA!: I MADE A COPY! HAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Total-Insanity-519: *swipes other remote* Mute.

Meito Anizawa: ...

Akira: Thank you!

Total-Insanity-519: Alright, well since I have to go and start on the next chapter, we'll have to stop here for today.

Akira: COME ON!

Total-Insanity-519: Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time next chapter. And on that note!

Join us next time, on Caught on the Rebounds! Back to normal?


	18. Back to Normal?

Total-Insanity-519: Hey there people! Before I say anything, I'd just like to thank everyone who's stuck with the story for all this time. This story is OVER TWO YEARS OLD! It may have felt longer than that for those of you who were forced to wait patiently (or not-so-patiently) for me to stop being lazy and write. But to me, it feels as though I've only been working on this for a few months.

I'm torn between shame for being so lazy, and pride for almost being finished with such a major project (I've only finished a few real stories, and this is by far the one I've put most work into.)

So, with that out of the way, I'd like to give you some good news, and some bad news.

The Bad News: You're probably going to kill me after you read this chapter.

The Good News: This is the last bad thing (or at least, the last terrible thing) to happen in the story.

The Middle News: Depending on how you see it, this could be good or bad. There are only 2 or 3 chapters left in the story. Assuming that I stay in the writing zone that I'm in right now, the story will be finished in anywhere from a few days to 2 or 3 weeks. I promise though, that I will not neglect my writing like I have been.

With that out of the way, please enjoy the newest chapter of Caught on the Rebounds!

* * *

A couple of weeks later, Kagami sat up, stretched, and slowly looked around the room, her eyes half shut with sleepiness. She had been physically and mentally drained in the last 2 weeks. She and her friends had gone around, visiting all the places she and Konata would hang out at, trying to re-familiarize herself with everything she used to know about Konata. Not only did this help her get used to having Konata as a friend again, but it also triggered a few memories of her from before the accident.

Although finding out about Konata's strange hobbies and personality caused Kagami to start questioning why she had such a weird friend, she would always tell herself that there must be a reason, and not to think too hard about it. She figured it was something close to why she was Misao's friend (even though she wasn't entirely sure of that reason either.)

Kagami got up and looked at the calendar, realized that she had forgotten to change it yesterday. It was now Monday, October second.

Although it felt weird, the dates added up. From what she knew, Comiket started somewhere in Mid-August. The accident had been during Comiket, and then she spent a month in the hospital, which meant she was released mid September. Now, 2 weeks later, it was October.

"Man, time goes by fast… So why am I still in this cast? Hey, that rhymed." She said with a chuckle. She was in a fairly good mood, considering it was a Monday. She had been told that she would only need the cast for a couple more weeks. She had made a great recovery, and her arm was almost fully healed.

Kagami got up, got ready for school, and went to flip the calendar before she went downstairs.

As she did so, a piece of paper fluttered out of the pages, but Kagami was already out the door.

In the kitchen, Tsukasa was waiting for her, along with a rather large breakfast, as was Tsukasa's tradition for a "Start of the month 'Good Luck' Meal."

"Wow Tsukasa, this looks great." She said, sitting down, and looking around at the large amount of delicious food.

"And I made it all with as little fat as possible, so you can eat what you want. I'll pack some for lunch too, and then the rest can be saved for left-overs night." Tsukasa said, sitting down.

3 minutes later…

Kagami sighed contently as she put down her chopsticks.

"I've got a feeling that this is gonna be a good day." She said happily.

"I'm glad you liked it Onee-chan. I'll pack it up, and then we can go to school." Tsukasa said, taking different plastic containers out and packing the food into them.

"Alright, I'll get your bag ready." Kagami said, standing up and heading for Tsukasa's room.

She grabbed Tsukasa's bag, made sure everything was in it, and then went back downstairs, where Tsukasa was getting her shoes on in the door way.

"Thanks Onee-chan." Tsukasa said, as Kagami handed her bag. "But where's yours?"

"Eh? Oh yeah." Kagami said, remembering that her bag was still in her room.

Kagami quickly ran upstairs, and grabbed her bag. As she was about to leave, a piece of paper on the floor caught her attention. She picked it up, and saw that it was a picture.

A photo taken from a novelty booth, with her, Tsukasa, Miyuki, and Konata posing. Written across the photo were the words "We love Kagamei."

Kagami looked at it for a few seconds, until she heard "Are you ready yet Onee-chan?" coming from the hall.

"Uh, Yeah! I'll be right down!" She called back, laying the photo on her bed, and hurrying downstairs with her bag in hand.

…

When she got to school, Kagami walked with Tsukasa to her classroom, said "Hi" to Miyuki and Konata, and then headed for her classroom.

When the bell rang, and after everyone had taken their seats, the teacher gave her the first bad news of the day.

"Alright everyone, I hope you were paying attention yesterday, because today, we have a pop quiz on the unit we've been covering." He said. The class groaned.

Kagami stared at the paper the teacher had handed her, a sudden fear gripping her heart.

She didn't recognize half of this.

"D-don't tell me this is… The stuff I didn't pay attention to yesterday…" Kagami said, hanging her head as she vaguely recalled the teacher writing the formulas on the board, as she thought about Konata.

…

After about 20 minutes, when the entire class had finished, the teacher told them to exchange papers with the person next to them.

He read out the answers, went over any questions that he thought were hard (while Kagami took notes as fast as she could) and then told the class to hand the papers back.

Kagami looked at her paper, and didn't know how to react. As the teacher collected the papers, the lunch bell rang.

"Hey Hiiragi, what did you get?" Misao asked, coming over to her desk.

"Uh, I did… Well, I didn't do horribly." Kagami said, hanging her head.

"I did really great! I got a 93!" Misao said happily.

"Damn it." Kagami said, her head now lying on the desk.

"What?" Misao asked innocently as Ayano congratulated her on the good score.

"You beat me." Kagami said quietly.

"Really? YES!" Misao said loudly. She quieted down when the remainder of the class turned to look at her.

"What'd you get?" She asked quietly.

"An 80%." Kagami said sadly.

"Don't worry Hiiragi. Miracles happen, don't they? I'm sure this was just a fluke." Misao said, patting Kagami on the back.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go to the cafeteria." Kagami said, standing up, her aura of disappointment slightly lifting at Misao's encouraging words.

When she found the table that everyone was at, she sat next to Tsukasa. She noticed that Tama had joined them this time.

"Oh, it's you… What was your name again?" Kagami asked Tama.

"It's Tama."

"Alright… Say, I didn't know you before, did I?" Kagami asked.

"Not very well." Tama said half-truthfully.

"OK. Anyway, what have you guys been up to?" Kagami asked.

"We had a pop quiz. I totally bombed it." Konata said sadly.

"I know. I didn't understand anything on it." Tsukasa admitted.

"You guys too?" Kagami asked.

"Eh? You mean you failed it too?" Konata asked.

"W-well, I didn't fail it. I was just a little unprepared." Kagami told them, scratching her head.

"Hmm… Slipping up, are we Kagamin?" Konata asked slyly.

"Don't start. I'm enjoying my day, and I'd rather not spoil it too much." Kagami said simply, taking out her bento full of food from this morning. He apatite returning in full, as she started to eat.

"So did you give up on your diet then?" She heard Konata tease.

She decided to ignore it.

…

After lunch, Kagami said goodbye, and returned to her classroom, making sure to take notes properly on the lesson.

The rest of the day seemed as if the world was fighting itself about whether it wanted to ruin her day or to make it amazing.

In Home Ec. she burnt the cake she had been working on, but the other sweets she had been making came out as one of her best dishes of the year. Playing dodgeball In P.E. she was one of the best players on the court, but she also seemed to be targeted exclusively, and received a few bruised from over-excited throwers who put too much power into their throws.

All in all, the day was about as good as any other day. The goods balanced out the bads, and despite her multiple bruises, and a small burn on her hand, she was in high spirits.

She sighed as the bell rang, signaling the end of school. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and headed for Tsukasa's class.

"Hey Tsukasa, Miyuki, Konata." Kagami said happily, waving at them and setting her bag down on a chair.

"Hey Kagamin. Wanna go to the manga store today?" Konata asked out of the blue.

"Sure. I don't have anything else today." Kagami said casually.

"Actually Kagami-san, we have a meeting with the class representatives of the other senior classes." Miyuki reminded her.

"Oh, yeah… Alright then, never mind Konata. Maybe tomorrow." Kagami said.

"Alright, fiiine." Konata pouted.

Kagami smiled. "You can walk home by yourself today, right Tsukasa?" she asked Tsukasa.

"That's fine Onee-chan." Tsukasa said happily.

"Alright then. Well Miyuki-san, we should get going." Kagami said, waving goodbye to Konata and Tsukasa.

As she left, Kagami saw, out of the corner of her eye, Tama starting to talk to Konata.

…

After about an hour of talking about recent events, catching Kagami up with what's been going on, and discussing plans for upcoming projects, the meeting dismissed.

"And don't forget, the parent-teacher conferences are coming up in a couple weeks, so we need volunteers to help set up."

Kagami said goodbye to the other members, and walked out with Miyuki.

"I have to leave now Kagami-san. I'll see you tomorrow." Miyuki said with a smile.

"Alright, bye Miyuki." Kagami said.

"Oh, I just noticed Kagami-san. Where's your bag?" Miyuki asked suddenly.

"What? Agh, not again!" Kagami said, a sweat drop running down the back of her head.

"I must've forgotten it in the meeting room. Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Kagami said, quickly running back to the room.

Kagami opened the door, and turned on the lights of the now empty room.

She searched around, but she couldn't find her bag anywhere.

Kagami thought hard about where it could be. And then she remembered setting it down when she went to Konata's class after school, and thought that she probably left it there.

Kagami quickly walked to the classroom. She walked down the halls, and noticed that the sun was already setting.

"Winter sure came early this year." She said with a sigh. The low light of the setting sun made the empty school halls seem kind of mysterious and sad. The sight made Kagami think of cold winters and snowy nights.

She shivered.

Kagami stopped outside of class 3-B. She reached for the door, but stopped when she heard voices.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about Tama-chan?" She heard Konata's voice ask.

She didn't hear anything else after that.

Partly out of curiosity, partly out of worry, and partly out of need to get her bag, Kagami eased open the door.

She froze when she saw what was going on inside.

Konata was pushed against the wall, with Tama in front of her, pressing her hands against Konata's shoulders, and kissing her.

Kagami's brain shut down, until she heard Konata gasp: "K-Kagami?"

When both Konata and Tama looked at her in alarm, Kagami's brain started to work again, and the first thought that kicked in was "What the hell is happening to me?"

"K-Kagami, this isn't what it looks like!" Konata said quickly. But Kagami didn't hear her, as her brain started to go faster.

"Uhh… Um… E-Excuse me!" She said loudly, slamming the door shut and running away as fast as she could.

After she had run for what felt like hours, Kagami stopped , waited for her breath to catch up to her, and looked up.

She was at the train station.

She sat on the bench in the station, and waited for the train to arrive, trying not to think about what she had just seen.

After a few minutes, the train arrived, and Kagami got on, her head still slightly fuzzy both from shock and lack of oxygen.

"What the hell did I just see?" She asked herself quietly.

She could still see the scene clearly in her head. Every detail seemed to be magnified. And she was sure that there were several details that existed only in her imagination.

"I know it's weird, but that shouldn't have gotten me this worked up. I mean, I know she's weird, and I don't really know much about Tama, but she seems close to Konata. This shouldn't bother me this much. So… Why am I bothered by it so much?"

As she wondered about this, she looked around the train, which was just now closing its doors. The train pulled forward, and as the station started to float out of her sight, she thought she saw a shadow move across the platform. She looked at, and although she recognized the form of a person, she couldn't tell what they looked like. The shadow-person ran to catch up to the train, but was lost from sight within seconds.

Kagami, who had temporarily forgotten about what she had been worrying about, quickly forgot about the shadow, as her troubles came back in full force. She continued to think about why she would react this way for the entire trip. As the train pulled up to her stop, she stood up and dimly noticed the train clock, and saw that instead of running for hours, she had only run for a few minutes. This hardly registered, but it stuck with her for some strange reason.

Kagami walked home quietly, her mind constantly spinning, and walked into her house. She didn't even say anything when her family welcomed her home. She slowly walked to her room, and sat down on the bed.

Her heart was still racing, despite having had plenty of time to rest. Her cheeks felt hot, and she realized that she had been thinking mainly about how Konata reacted when she saw Kagami staring at her.

Kagami felt something under her when she sat down. She stood up, and saw the paper from that morning.

The words "We love Kagamei." glared at her like a beacon

And then it hit her.

No, it wasn't an "_it" _that hit her. It was everything.

All of her memories of Konata since the day they meant.

Everything that had been going through her mind since she realized she loved her.

All of the feelings and thoughts and memories that had been messing with her dreams, and her thoughts, and her life came flooding back to her, further breaking down her mind as she struggled to process it all.

She felt dizzy, she quickly lay down on her bed, held her head in her hands, and waited for the torrent of thoughts and emotions to stop.

And after a minute or two, the pain stopped, her brain cleared, and she was able to think clearly again.

Kagami reveled for a second in all of her memories, reflecting on how much better she felt now that her brain was her own again.

And then something connected.

"Wait a minute… That little bit**!" Kagami cursed loudly.

She was going to have a little _talk _with Tama tomorrow.

Kagami's anger grew, but then it subsided, and replaced itself with depression.

"Konata… What if she… Wanted that?" Kagami thought sadly.

She hadn't seen enough to tell if Konata had enjoyed the kiss. For all she knew, Konata might have been the one who has asked for the kiss. She might have loved Tama for a long time. They were really close as kids…

Amidst the anger, and depression, and confusion, Kagami suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy. She touched her lips gently.

"She had Konata's first kiss…" She thought gently. Strangely, the only thing that was going on in her head as she said that, was what it would feel like to have had her first kiss.

For almost an hour, she switched between these thoughts and feelings.

And then, out of nowhere, something came to her mind.

Something that should have been the farthest thing on her mind at the moment.

"Mom!" She called loudly, almost unaware of doing so.

"Are you okay dear?" Her mom asked worriedly, as she hurried into Kagami's room.

Kagami turned away from her.

"Mom… Where are all of my pictures of Konata?"

* * *

Akira: LUCKY CHANNEL! It's me, Akira Kogami! Your lovely navigator for today!

Minoru: And I'm Minoru Shiraishi. Akira-sama's assistant.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: AND I AM MEITO ANIZAWA! AKIRA-SAMA'S ASSISTANT'S ASSISTANT!

Akira: And we'd like to thank you for supporting me, Akira Kogami, and Lucky Channel!

Minoru: Today, we're going to be talking about Tama. She's Konata's best (and only) childhood friend. She moved as a girl, but recently met up with Konata again at Comiket.

Akira: And she's a freaking bit**! I mean, first she just leaves Konata, and then years later comes back, and assumes that they're still best friends! And she's even trying to come on to Konata! What a little slut!

Minoru: That's not what the card says.

MEITO ANIZAWA!: YES! SHE IS RATHER EVIL AND CONIVING, ISN'T SHE?

Akira: And she just gets in Kagami's face, telling her that Konata belongs to her!

Minoru: A-actually, she did give Kagami a chance to-

Akira: And THEN, she KISSES Konata! Right in front of Kagami!

Minoru: B-but she didn't know Kagami was going to-

Akira: Are you disagreeing with me?

MEITO ANIZAWA!: I THINK HE WANTS TO DEFEND TAMA!

Akira: Oh really? Perhaps you'd like to tell all of the pissed-off "Tama haters" why you think she's innocent.

Minoru: Uhh… Never mind! T-Tama's evil! She's a big… Jerk!

MEITO ANIZAWA!: AND ON THE NOTE!

All: JOIN US NEXT TIME, ON CAUGHT ON THE REBOUNDS! THE TALK!


	19. The Talk!

Total-Insanity-519: Welcome back, to the second-to-last chapter of Caught on the Rebounds! I'M ALMOST FREAKING DONE! YES! HIGH-FIVE! ... Or not.

Anyway, I'm glad to say that I'll be working on the last chapter of this story in my two weeks that I'm up here in Michigan, so I'll probably have that chapter up withing a few days!

I'd also like to announce that after I finish this, I'll go back to Valentine's Day Syndrome, and possibly Cupid Alice, and finish those as well, _before _I start my next project.

Now, I'd like to ask you for your opinion (although it may be a little bit biased in this case.)

I'm going to be starting a new story soon, but I have a million different ideas floating around in my head for a bunch of different stories to write. So I need help deciding on which I'm going to do.

So you guys help me decide (although once again, I might not make my decision entirely by your votes, since it's kind of biased)

These are the different anime that I want to write a story for:

Lucky Star: American Modesty (Redone)

Clannad: Title in Progress

Gosick: Blood Red Rain of the Second Storm

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Dear Diary

Astarotte no Omocha: Title in Progress (not to mention, this anime isn't even a choice on )

And there was one more, but I've forgotten what it was at the moment, so I'll probably post it in the next chapter. If you guys want me to do one of those stories, feel free to review or PM me with whichever one you want.

Now, enough of my stupid indecision, please enjoy this chapter of Caught on the Rebounds!

* * *

"Mom… Where are all my pictures?"

Kagami's mom didn't say anything.

"Did you or Dad take my pictures?" Kagami asked again.

Kagami didn't dare look at her mother when she asked this. She expected her mother to deny that they had done something like that, or make some excuse.

What she didn't expect was for her mother to sigh, and then say, "I knew this was going to happen."

She sighed again, and called for her husband.

"Dear! Kagami wants to talk to you!" She called loudly.

"Mom, why don't you just answer the question?" Kagami asked, turning to face her mother, who was looking more irritated than guilty.

"Because it was your father's idea." She said simply.

"Yes Honey?" Kagami's father asked as he walked into the room. He froze as he felt an angry glare directed at him from not only Kagami, but from his wife as well.

"U-uh, you wanted to talk to me Kagami?" He asked nervously.

Kagami was getting inpatient.

"Where are my photos of Konata, and why did you take them?" She asked bluntly.

Her father's face fell when he heard the question.

"… So you remember again?"

"Will you stop answering my questions with more questions?" Kagami asked angrily.

Her father sighed.

"I was afraid of this." He said, not looking at his daughter. "You see Kagami, we found out something after you got into the accident." He said, still not looking up.

"Which was?" Kagami asked inpatiently.

"That you were in love with Konata."

"…" Kagami didn't respond.

"But when you woke up, and you had forgotten about Konata, we realized that this could be a good opportunity to keep it from happening." He finished explaining.

Kagami couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I want know how you found out that I love Konata, but first I wanna know why the _hell _you think it's such a bad thing." She said angrily.

"For the record," Kagami's mother said quickly, "I had no part in this, and I don't have a problem with Konata."

"And I don't have a problem with her either!" Kagami's father said hotly, "But I do have a problem with you loving her."

"Why? What's it to you? Inori's the heir, so what should it matter who _I _like?" Kagami argued angrily, not caring how unfair that may have sounded.

"Because it's not right, and though you're not the heir, you are part of this family, and I won't have something like that in _my _family." He said, suddenly becoming angry.

"It's not _your _family! You and Mom both work, and not only does Mom cook and clean, she even makes more money than you do!" Kagami said angrily.

Kagami's father went silent, his face slowly getting red with anger.

"Honey, could you _please _let me and Kagami talk? _Alone._" Kagami's mother asked quietly.

"No. Not yet. Young lady, I am the head of this household whether you like it or not, and if you're going to argue with me, and if you won't even _listen _to me, then I will disown you!" He threatened angrily.

"Fine! Why would it matter to me if I get kicked out of '_your' _family?" Kagami yelled angrily, grabbed her diary, and started to walk out of her room, when her mother stopped her.

"Honey, I _really _think you need to leave now." She said to her husband in a tone of voice that made him freeze. Kagami moved out of the way as her father left the room.

After he left, the two girls were quiet.

"I'll be right back Kagami. I'll get your pictures of Konata." Kagami's mother said gently.

"I'm surprised Dad didn't destroy them." Kagami said bitterly, as she sat on her bed.

"I had enough problems with him invading your privacy, taking your possessions, and then lying to you. I decided to at least take a stand somewhere."

Kagami wanted to say something about how she should've taken a stand earlier. But she realized that her Mom was trying to help her, so she just nodded as her mother left.

Kagami lay down on her bed, and looked up at the ceiling. Her anger was slowly abating, giving way to the feelings that came with arguing with her father, almost being disowned, being the cause of a family fight, and losing Konata to some girl who she knew almost nothing about.

She was so upset, that she didn't really feel anything at all.

She stared blankly at the ceiling, not sure how to feel, not sure what to think, not sure what to do.

"_This explains that missing page in my diary." _Kagami thought to herself.

About half a week after she had woken up, and after having Tsukasa bring her diary, Kagami had been looking through old entries in her diary, hoping that she had information that might help her memories of Konata. She had been looking through it, and she had noticed that there was a day missing. There was no uneven rip or tear. The page was just missing.

"Onee-chan?"

Kagami looked at her door, where Tsukasa was peeking in.

"Yeah Tsukasa?" Kagami asked tiredly.

"Um… can I come in?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure."

Tsukasa slowly walked in and took a seat on the edge of the bed, not looking at Kagami.

"So… What did you want Tsukasa?" Kagami asked, sitting up on her bed and looking at Tsukasa.

"Um… I heard you and Dad shouting…" Tsukasa said awkwardly.

"Oh…" Kagami said, looking away. "So… you know about… me and Konata?" She asked.

"Yeah… Um…" Tsukasa started to say.

"Listen, don't be too freaked out about this Tsukasa. I'm sure everyone will calm down about this soon. And… I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do about Konata, so-"

"I already knew about you and Konata!" Tsukasa said quickly.

"…"

"…"

"… What?" Kagami asked.

"And… I'm the one who told Mom and Dad." Tsukasa continued.

"How did you find out?" Kagami asked. She was angry, but she was more hurt that Tsukasa wouldn't keep her secret.

"I… might've read your diary when you asked me to get it for you. And, when I saw that you wrote about Konata , I… told Mom and Dad…" Tsukasa explained guiltily.

"Tsukasa!" Kagami said, starting to get angry.

"I'm sorry!" Tsukasa said quickly, flinching slightly as her Onee-chan yelled at her. "I didn't think it would be this bad! And, and, and I didn't mean to read your diary! It just sort of fell open when I grabbed it, so… I- I just kind of glimpsed it, and then- th-then, you and Dad, and Mom, and you started to fight and I… I'm sorry!" Tsukasa broke out, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.

Kagami sighed. This was, after all, her hopeless air-head of a sister who never meant to harm anyone.

"*sigh* It's alright Tsukasa. I'm not angry… Not at you." She said softly.

"B-but, it's all my fault!" Tsukasa said sadly.

"Well, I won't deny that." Kagami said truthfully. "But it's not that bad. They would've found out eventually, and I can't blame you for reading my diary, since I did ask you to get it for me. I can only be glad it wasn't Konata who got it… You… didn't tell Konata, did you?" Kagami asked.

Tsukasa shook her head.

"Good." Kagami said, sighing with relief.

"I'm *hic* really sorry…" Tsukasa said, starting to calm down.

"It's fine Tsukasa."

Tsukasa reached into her pocket, and took out a piece of paper. She handed it silently to Kagami.

Kagami unfolded it. It was the missing page of her diary.

_Dear Diary,  
I have 2 things that I need to say before I start my normal entry._

_I'M FREAKING OUT_

_I'm in love with Konata…_

_CRAP CRAP CRAP! WHAT THE HELL? How can I be in love with Konata?_ _When did this even happen? _

_And I never imagined that Tsukasa would be dating before me. Or that she would be a lesbian. Or that it would be with Miyuki…_

_WHAT AM I DOING? I need to focus! But I don't know what to focus on. My mind is still spinning now that I have time to think about it… That's just my luck though… _

_Crap… I need some sleep._

_Night,  
Kagami __Izumi _ _Hiiragi_

Kagami sighed as she read her old thought. She remembered how frayed her nerves had been when she first realized her feelings for Konata.

"And so this just _happened_ to be the page that fell open."

"Uh! W-well, um…" Tsukasa fidgeted guiltily.

"It's fine, it's fine." Kagami said with a smile, which was surprisingly easy, considering what had just gone on between her and her parents.

At that moment, Kagami's mother walked in, carry a surprisingly large box of pictures.

"Here you go Kagami. They're all here." She said, setting the box on the floor.

"Thanks Mom." Kagami said, getting up and taking a few photos with her good hand.

Kagami sighed as she looked at the pictures.

Whether she was tackling Kagami, burying her in the sand, or even being surrounded among friends, Konata was always smiling (except for when she was making faces) Kagami couldn't help but admire each of the memories she was recalling one-by-one.

Kagami sighed.

It was late, her head was aching, her eyes were just starting to itch with exhaustion, and as much as she wanted to continue looking at her pictures of Konata, she needed to let her brain rest.

Tsukasa (who's amazing ability to fall asleep anywhere was currently working it's magic) was starting to doze off, her eyes half-shut, while she swayed dangerously on the edge of the bed.

Kagami gently pinched her cheek to wake her up, and Tsukasa jerked for a second, looked around, and realized where she was.

"Good night Tsukasa." Kagami told her.

Tsukasa nodded, her eyes already starting to close again. She got up, mumbled "Night Onee-chan." And left the room.

Kagami closed the door behind her.

After she got ready for bed, and changed into her pajamas, Kagami tucked herself in, and turned off the lights.

Despite everything that had just happened, Kagami slept soundly.

…

A little too soundly.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep

"Alright, I get it…"

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Be quiet, I'm already up…"

Beep. Beep. Bee-

"I'M AWAKE ALREADY!"

Kagami smashed the alarm button on her clock, and groaned.

According to her now even more dented clock, it was time to get ready for school.

It had only felt like 10 minutes of sleep, and Kagami finally understood how Tsukasa could be so tempted to go back to sleep. Kagami's mind was still burnt out, and she barely even recognized the numbers on her clock. She guess that because Tsukasa never had the best brain, it must tire out easily. She began to feel sorry for Tsukasa, who must feel like this every morning.

"From now on, I'm going to let Tsukasa sleep in a little later." She mumbled groggily to herself.

Kagami took a shower, changed into her uniform, and went downstairs.

She said good morning to her sisters and mother, and gave a grudging "morning." to her father, avoiding his eyes, while he did the same.

Kagami guessed that Inori and Matsuri had heard the fight, because they also were keeping a cold shoulder to their father. Kagami felt an indescribable thanks towards them for being on her side.

Kagami ate her breakfast silently, and when she and Tsukasa had finished, they left for school.

On the train, Kagami didn't see Konata. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or not.

She had seen Tama and Konata kiss, and just the thought of it turned her stomach inside out. If she saw Konata, Kagami didn't know whether she should confront her about it, or try and act like it never happened.

Kagami started to wonder what she should do when she and Konata inevitably had to talk to each other.

The train stopped, Kagami and Tsukasa got off, and walked the rest of the way to school.

When she dropped off Tsukasa in her classroom, Kagami didn't see Konata or Tama. She turned around after saying goodbye, and before she knew what was happening, she crashed into someone.

Both of them fell to the floor.

"Ow! Oh, sorry about tha-" Kagami stopped as she looked up. She had bumped into Tama.

"You!" Kagami said angrily, starting to get up.

"Oh. Hey Kagami, what's wrong?" Tama asked, picking up her books, which had spilled out of her bag.

"You're what's wrong!" Kagami said loudly. Then she realized, that the door was still open to Tsukasa's classroom.

Kagami lowered her voice, and quickly grabbed Tama by her collar.

"I want to have a talk with you. Meet me after school, in the room where they take yearbook pictures." Kagami hissed threateningly. She let go of Tama, and walked away angrily to her classroom.

Kagami couldn't take focus enough to take notes. Her anger at Tama began to boil up inside her, and her old temper came back in full swing. It was all she could do to keep herself from hitting Misao (who was constantly begging her to let her copy notes.)

After the final bell rang, Kagami immediately picked up her bag, and left quickly for the picture room.

She opened the door, and the room was empty.

She turned on the lights, and waited impatiently for Tama to show up.

About 5 minutes later, the door opened again, and Tama walked in.

"Hey, Kagami, what is this about?" She asked in a puzzled voice, as she set her bag down.

Kagami walked up to her, and if her arm wasn't in a cast, she would have slapped Tama as hard as possible.

"You! What the hell are you doing? You promised that I could have time to tell Konata how I felt!" Kagami said angrily, raising her arm in anger, and immediately putting it down again when it start to hurt.

"Oh. You remember again, don't you?" Tama asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I do!" Kagami said loudly.

"Look, I gave you a month to tell her. It's not my fault if you went and got knocked out for that month." Tama said with a bit of an angry look on her face.

"Are you kidding me? How the hell does that make any sense?" Kagami asked, trying once again to keep herself from moving her cast.

"Look, I get that you're angry. But goddamn it, I have had enough waiting!" Tama said, starting to yell back.

"I've waited for years to see Konata again! Then I find out that she has a new best friend. I give that friend, the only other person who could take Konata away from me, _again,_ a chance to tell her how she feels. I was stretching it when I gave you a month. Hell, you're lucky I didn't just take her back while she was upset about you getting hurt! I could have caught her on the rebounds! But no, I keep waiting like I promised, and I know it might not be fair to you, but it's not fair to me that I have to just sit back and let some new girl take away _my _Konata! She was my best friend! She was my _only _friend! She's the whole reason I'm even able to talk to people like this, because _she means the world to me_!" Tama ranted angrily. A tear threatened to spill from her eye, but Kagami didn't care.

She didn't care right at that moment about how Tama felt, because to her, Tama was the bad guy. She might have been just as selfish as Tama because of that, but it didn't matter to her _at all _at that moment.

"Fine! You know what? I don't care if you like her too! I'm going to Konata's house right now! I'm going to tell her how I feel, I don't care what the hell happens because of it, but I am going to tell her! And then we'll let her choose. Hell, for all I know, she doesn't even like either of us that way! But I'm not going to let some _bitch_ like you decide who she goes out with, or who she has feeling for. " Kagami said angrily. Not able to think of anything else to say, and not trusting herself to continue the conversation, Kagami walked out, leaving Tama speechless. She smiled inwardly. It felt good to cuss at someone after all of the things she had been put through.

Without even thinking of what she was going to say or do once she got to Konata's house, Kagami got on the train, and began her normal process of getting her anger under control.

Kagami sighed, as her head started to throb.

"_What the hell did I just do?"_

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: I actually don't think I did a great job with this chapter. Because contrary to what you might believe, this chapter _wasn't_ late because I was slacking off, but because I was constantly re-writing it, trying to make it sound better. I didn't like a lot about this chapter, because I think that parts of it were either too cheesy, or too OOC. Plus, the little argument between Tama and Kagami annoyed me a bit. As you can probably tell, Tama hasn't had much back story, and everybody already hated her anyway, so it's a little hard/awkward to try and make her sound like a victim. But it also felt dumb to try and keep her sounding bitchy, just to please the readers. There were other tidbits that I had problems with, but it's late, and I need to go to bed before my Dad gets angry at me, so I'll leave you for tonight.

Join us next time, on Caught on the Rebounds!


	20. The End!

Total-Insanity-519: Guess what! I'm a slacking, good-fur-nuthin, procrastinating liar!  
And guess what else! THE STORY IS FINALLY DONE! HURRAY!

Because I've kept you waiting longer that I said I would, I'm going to save the rest of the talking for the end, and proudly present you with the final chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Kagami's head began to spin, her heart began to pound, and just the thought of confessing to Konata started to make her blush.

Is what Kagami had expected to feel like.

Instead, her head was oddly clear and focused, her heart seemed to be going at a normal pace, and her cheeks stayed their normal color.

Kagami was strangely calm. She didn't know that this method worked so well. She would have to remember this.

Kagami began to take in deep breaths as the train came to a slow stop. She looked out the window, and remembered the familiar shadow that she had seen last night. Briefly wondering who it could have been, Kagami stood up as the doors slid open, and she began her walk towards Konata's house.

Although she had managed to calm down relatively quickly on the train, everything she had expected to feel came flooding through her in seconds, making her nearly collapse.

She slowly steadied herself, looked around to make sure no one had seen, and continued at an unsteady pace.

"_What the hell was I thinking?"_

"**You were thinking that Tama was a bitch."**

"_Well, yeah, but what on earth possessed me to make a sudden confession to Konata?"_

"**Tama being a bitch."**

"…"

"**You know it's true."**

Kagami groaned as the voices in her head argued. Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe the stress was frying her brain. As soon as the weekend came, she was going to sleep for 24 hours straight. Hopefully that would be enough.

"I just want this to be over." Kagami grumbled to herself.

"_**THEN GET IT OVER WITH!" **_Both of Kagami's voices said at once.

Kagami sighed, and started to think over how she should do this.

Deep in thought, Kagami didn't even notice that she had walked almost two blocks past Konata's house.

She quickly backtracked, and stopped in front of Konata's house.

She gulped, took a deep breath, and walked towards the door.

She reached for the bell, then quickly pulled it back. She saw that her hand was shaking uncontrollably.

"Calm down girl." She whispered to herself. "Just act normal."

Kagami took another deep breath, reached for the bell, hesitated, and then rang it.

"_No going back now." _She thought as the door opened, and Soujiro appeared.

"Oh, hello Kagami, are you here to see Konata?" Soujiro asked.

"Oh, hello Mr. Izumi. Yeah, I'm here to see Konata. Is she here?"

"Yes, but she caught Yutaka's cold, so be careful." He said, allowing Kagami to step in before closing the door.

"Thanks." Kagami said weakly, as she took her shoes off.

That explained why Konata hadn't been at school. She was relieved that it wasn't because she was avoiding her.

Kagami found Konata's room, took a minute to steady herself, took one last large breath, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." She heard Konata's voice answer.

Kagami slid the door open, and saw Konata draped in a blanket, sitting on the floor and playing a fighting game, while Yutaka was in her PJs, and was doing her homework on Konata's bed.

"Oh, Kagami, hey." Konata greeted her, a surprised look on her face.

"Hey Konata, Yutaka." Kagami greeted, trying to sound non-chalant.

"What're you doing here?" Konata asked, pausing the game, and turning to her friend.

"Well, I had a bit of a fight with my Dad, so I figured I'm come by for a little while." Kagami said, bending the truth. She couldn't tell the truth while Yutaka was in the room.

"Alright then. Grab a controller and play against me. I was starting to get bored." Konata said with a smile.

Kagami nodded, grabbed a controller form Konata's bin of games and electronics, and plugged it in.

For about half-an-hour, Konata beat down Kagami worse than usual, while Kagami struggled to focus on the game.

And just as Konata decided to switch games, God intervened.

Yutaka sat up, yawned, and closed her text book.

"I'm done with homework Onee-chan. I think I'm going to go to bed now." She told Konata, getting up and yawning again.

"Night Yu-chan." Konata said with a smile.

"Good night." Kagami said, nodding.

Kagami was now alone with Konata. She didn't know what to do, but she thought it was best to clear up a few things before she confessed.

"Hey, Konata." Kagami said casually.

"Yeah?"

"Um… I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot." Konata said, sitting up and looking at her.

"Um… What I saw yesterday… Between you and Tama… What was that?" Kagami asked.

"Oh that? It's nothing too big. Turns out Tama had a crush on me, she kissed me in a surprise attack, and then you came in." Konata explained, shrugging it off as if it was nothing huge.

"H-how can you be so casual about it?" Kagami asked, surprised that Konata was taking it so lightly.

"Hm? Why shouldn't I. I don't like Tama like that, and I know she'll get over it eventually, so it's not that big a deal." Konata said.

Once again, Konata's amazing ability to treat anything as if it was nothing astounded Kagami.

"Oh… I guess that, kind of makes sense." Kagami said, unsure how to feel about this.

"Yeah, but Tama's pretty self-sufficient. She'll get over it eventually." Konata said again.

"Are you sure? I mean, she told me just how much she liked you. She's been thinking about this since she left." Kagami told her.

"She told you too?" Konata asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, yeah I thought about that after she told me, but I think she doesn't give herself enough credit. I think she'll be fine after awhile. Besides, we're still friends." Konata said, a small smile on her face.

"Besides," she continued, "She was always more of a sister than a friend. And I can't really date my sister, can I?" Konata joked.

"Hmm… I guess that makes sense. For you" Kagami said, smiling slightly as well.

They were both silent for a few seconds, before Kagami decided to ask.

"So… Is there anyone that _you _like?"

"Me? Hmm…" Konata looked deep in thought.

"Well, that depends." She said with a mischievous smile. "Do you like anyone?"

"What? I asked first, why should I tell you?" Kagami asked indignantly.

"Hm… So that means that there _is _someone?" Konata asked, her smile growing bigger.

"W-well… That's…" Kagami started to fidget.

"Hm… I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you who _I _like, if you tell me who you like first." Konata said, now paying full attention.

"Uh… Well…" Kagami started to fidget even more, a blush now taking over her face.

"_Come on! Do it already!" _One of her voices said encouragingly.

"**DO IT ALREADY!" **Her other voice said angrily.

"_**DO IT! DO IT!"**_

"Come on, Kagamin!" Konata said excitedly. "Finally, there might be some romance in our group!"

Kagami was caught completely off-guard by this. That kind of thing was so… so much like what Konata would say, that Kagami was completely bewildered for a second.

Everything that had happened over the past few months had felt so much like some kind of fake love story, that suddenly hearing such a normal thing seemed so strange, and so funny, that she was brought down to earth just long enough for her to say: "Konata." before trying to hide the giggle-fit that had suddenly taken over.

"Hm? What is it?" Konata asked.

"N-no." Kagami said, her giggles subsiding as the seriousness of the situation hit her once again.

"I-I didn't mean to say it like that, it's just that, I meant that… I… I love you Konata."

Kagami's face was red from both her recent giggle-fit, and from embarrassment, and she couldn't even look at Konata, let alone keep eye contact.

Kagami could only look at her lap, while Konata remained silent.

After neither of them said anything for a few minutes, Kagami knew something was wrong. Konata should have said something. The possibility that Konata might be so disgusted, or so freaked out by Kagami's confession came to Kagami's mind. Despite how Konata had acted when Tama confessed to her, Kagami couldn't help but think that she was being flat out rejected, and that this whole thing had been a mistake.

Kagami couldn't take it. Her mind started to spin harder, and tears started to spill out of her eyes. She heard Konata say her name, but before she could even register it, her mind went completely blank, and she couldn't feel or see anything anymore.

…

When Kagami woke up, she could vaguely recall the strange dream she had had. She recalled walking on clouds, going through a gate, and seeing people dressed in white. The whole thing looked exactly how she imagined Heaven would be. But something told her that she wasn't dead. She had walked around for awhile, looking at unfamiliar people when she suddenly saw a very familiar girl.

It was a small girl, with long flowing blue hair, and emerald green eyes. The pure white that everyone here seemed to be wearing fit her beautifully, and Kagami only think that this girl had always been an angel, because she seemed to innocent and beautiful to have been a human.

And she looked exactly like Konata.

"K-Konata, what are you doing here?"

The girl shook her head.

Kagami was confused for a second, but then she remembered a picture that Konata had shown her once.

"Are you… Konata's mom?"

The woman nodded.

"Oh… Am I dead?" Kagami asked blankly.

The woman shook her head.

Kagami looked her over again, and began to notice very minute differences between her and her daughter. No little piece of hair sticking out, no mole, and her eyes were slightly gentler than Konata's.

Before Kagami said anything else, Kanata approached her slowly. She took Kagami's hands, and loosely wrapped them in her small, delicate hands.

She smiled up at Kagami. It was a warm, bright smile that made Kagami feel like she was melting.

Kanata mouthed something, but Kagami couldn't hear what she said. Suddenly, she pulled harder than Kagami expected someone as fragile looking as her could pull, and she felt herself almost falling.

Then she felt Kanata's small arms wrap around her shoulders.

She saw Kanata's mouth move again, but she still couldn't hear her.

And when Kanata released her, Kagami's eyes opened, and above her stood a girl who looked remarkably similar, but with an ahoge sticking out of the top of her hair, slightly slanted eyes, and a mole on her cheek.

"K-Konata!" Kagami said loudly, sitting up quickly and looking wildly around.

"What the…" Kagami said, taking a minute to remember where she was.

"Oh. It was just a dream."

"You okay Kagamin?" Konata asked, a worried look on her face that was mixed with relief.

"Y-yeah… Woah that was weird." Kagami said shakily, holding her head gently. Amazingly, her mind was clear. Her head didn't hurt, she could think clearly, and she was, for the most part, calm.

"I think I needed that more than I knew." Kagami said, slightly enjoying the peaceful feeling.

Kagami remained silent for awhile, then asked in a small voice: "So... I, um… answered your question, didn't I?"

"Oh, yeah you did." Konata said, not seeming to be fazed much by the confession.

"Alright then… Um… I don't know if you want to answer that right away or not, but it's fine if you don't. But, could you at least keep your promise, and tell me who you like?" Kagami asked, trying not to sound to nervous.

"Kagamin."

"Hm? What is it?" Kagami asked.

Konata sighed "How many times is that going to happen? What I meant was… I love you too Kagami." Konata said simply.

Kagami didn't register what she had said for a few seconds. And then it hit her.

"W-wait, you lo-… You… What?"

Konata didn't blush or fidget, but instead just smiled her cat-like grin.

"Y-you're serious?" Kagami asked.

"Of course." Konata said simply.

"But… You…" Kagami didn't know what to say. She was dumbstruck at the turn of events. She hadn't expected this at all.

"But… Why didn't you say anything?" Kagami asked.

"You may not think of me having a girlish side Kagamin, but even I was nervous about telling someone I love them." Konata said, scratching her head. Kagami couldn't tell if she was teasing her or not.

"Um…" Kagami said shyly. She seemed to be saying that a lot lately.

"So…"

"You wondering what to do next too?" Konata asked, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Kind of, yeah…" Kagami nodded.

"Well, in most games they usually kiss at this point." Konata said.

"Yeah…" Kagami said blankly, ignoring the fact that Konata was comparing this to a game.

"Although it may not be the best idea, since I do have a cold." Konata pointed out.

"Oh no, that doesn't matter." Kagami said quickly.

"Okay… Well…" Konata said, hesitating slightly before leaning in.

"Okay…" Kagami said, doing the same thing.

They both closed their eyes as their faces got closer. Kagami was getting nervous, and she couldn't tell how close they were. Out of nothing but the spur of moment, Kagami moved forward quickly, but instead of the kiss she was expecting, she missed Konata's face completely, and ended up off balance, and she fell forward, onto Konata's lap.

Both of them opened their eyes quickly. Kagami took a few second to realize what had happened, and she quickly pushed herself up, a large blush on her face.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that!" She apologized to Konata, who had a small blush on her face, but she didn't seem all that embarrassed about what had happened.

Kagami sighed dejectedly. "That was so pathetic." She said miserably.

"Kagamin…" Konata said, putting a hand on Kagami's shoulder.

"*sigh* Yeah?" Kagami said, looking up. The last thing she saw was a close up of blue hair, before she felt Konata lips press against her own.

Kagami quickly melted into the kiss, and did her best to breathe through her nose, trying to make it last.

After almost a minute into the kiss, they broke apart, breathing heavily.

"Woah…" Konata said, with an amazed voice.

"Yeah…" Kagami said simply.

"That was better than the games made it out to be." Konata said.

"I keep telling you, *pant* don't base real life off of games."

"I guess you win this round…" Konata said, finally able to breathe normally again.

"Well... Since we've got all that cleared up… Now what?" Konata asked.

"Hmm… Well, I suppose that I should tell you that I got my memories back." Kagami said, just now remembering that she still hadn't told Konata about it.

"Really? When did that happen?" Konata asked, a large, surprised smile on her face.

"Last night, when that picture of us from the field trip fell out of my calendar." Kagami said simply.

"Aww, how corny." Konata said teasingly.

"Yeah, well, what can you do?" Kagami said, smiling back.

"So… now that everything's all happy and back to normal… Wanna kiss again?" Konata asked.

Before Kagami could answer, Konata was once again pressing her lips against Kagami's.

This kiss was a bit shorter than the last one, but they were still both out of breath when it ended.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of that." Konata said happily.

"Yeah." Kagami said, still not able to speak.

However, something about the kiss reminded Kagami of something that made her mood go down considerably.

"Hey, Konata…" Kagami started to ask.

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking that… well, that was my first kiss… and then I remembered, that it wasn't… your first kiss. I remembered that Tama… And then I got really sad." Kagami said, showing her emotions yet again.

"No she wasn't." Konata said with a slightly guilty smile.

"What do you mean? You haven't had any boyfriends or anything, so how did you have your first kiss?" Kagami asked.

"Well… I _probably _should have mentioned this before, but… Do you remember when we slept together in that love hotel near Comiket?" Konata asked.

"Vividly." Kagami said with a nod.

"Well… I kind of woke up in the middle of the night. And when I couldn't go back to sleep, I looked around the room, and I noticed how cute your sleeping face was." Konata said.

"And?" Kagami asked, starting to understand.

"Well, I _might _have snuck a… a _quick _kiss from you while you were… sleeping." Konata finished, not daring to look at Kagami, who would normally freak out at something like this.

"Konata…" Kagami said, her eyes covered in shadow.

"Y-yeah?" Konata asked nervously.

Out of nowhere, Kagami tackled Konata in a fierce hug.

"K-Kagami, what are you doing?" Konata asked bewildered.

"Konata, if you had said that a couple months ago, I would have tried to kill you, but right now, I'm extremely happy to hear that." Kagami murmured into Konata's hair.

"O-Oh…" Konata said, not sure what to do now. She silently stroked Kagami's hair as the twin-tailed Tsundere continued to hold her, refusing to let go.

After a little while of that, Konata hesitantly said "Um, Kagami? You can let go now."

Kagami didn't respond.

"Kagami?"

Konata pushed Kagami's head off of her shoulder, and saw that her eyes were closed.

"She fell asleep in my arms… _God _that is corny." She said, but laid Kagami's head in her lap, as the girl let her once again frayed nerves cool down.

…

After about ten minutes, Konata's legs began to ache. She was still kneeling, and the added pressure made her feel like her legs were going to break at the knee.

Gently lifting Kagami's head, and placing a pillow underneath it, Konata got up and turned on the computer.

"Hmmm hmm hm hm HMMmmm…" Konata began to hum to herself while logging into her game.

KonaKona: Hey guys. Did I miss anything?"

PyrusSeraph: Man, you should've been here! They had a surprise event raid where all the monsters dropped rare crafting mats! I made a bunch of new armor and weapons!"

KuroKiller: What's up Izumi? I made you a new sword, since you weren't here. Where were you? And if you say slacking off or watching anime, I'm going to give you a detention.

KonaKona: I got a new girlfriend.

KuroKiller: Hiiragi?

KonaKona: Yup.

KuroKiller: Gratz

PyrusSeraph: Congratz!

Unionitis: Nice one

HalfFurry: You guys gonna have a kid?

KonaKona: We'll see… ;) She can be a bit shy though.

PinkMenace: What's she like?

KonaKona: Tsundere.

Unionitis: Nice! Sounds like a keeper to me.

KuroKiller: I SAY WE CELEBRATE!

PyrusSeraph: Who's up for an all-nighter?

KonaKona: Maybe tomorrow night. I'm only on here until she wakes up.

HalfLion: Make you're move while she's unconscious! XD She doesn't have to know anything happened…

KonaKona: She'd find out eventually. And she can turn evil when she's angry.

KuroKiller: It's true.

Unionitis: O.O

PinkMenace: I know the type... Sounds like a great person!

KuroKiller: I'm just gonna let you know now that a new girlfriend won't work as an excuse for not doing homework.

KonaKona: Ma'am… Please don't talk about school in a videogame… T_T

KuroKiller: Yeah yeah… Well let's do this then! We've gotta make the most of the time you're on! Here, I'll give you the sword…

…

KonaKona: Thanks Ma'am. Alright, let's go!

PyrusSeraph: WOOT!

HalfLion: Let's kick some $$!

HalfLion: Take that, you stupid chat filter!

KonaKona: Let's-a go!

…

An hour later, after Konata and her friends finished with the dungeon, Konata heard Kagami start wake up.

KonaKona: Oh, sorry guys, she's coming to.

HalfLion: Good luck

PyrusSeraph: Try not to be too loud ;)

KuroKiller: Dammit… Well, good luck Izumi.

Unionitis: Night.

KonaKona: Seeya later.

PinkMenace: Bye-nii!

Konata signed off of the game, and wheeled the chair around as Kagami stirred.

"Mmm… Konata?" Kagami mumbled groggily, as she rubbed her eyes.

"Hi Kagamin." Konata said with a smile.

Kagami groaned. "What time is it?"

"About 9:00." Konata said, checking the time on her computer.

"Wow… How long was I out?"

"Well this time, it was about an hour, but last time it was about 3 hours." Konata said with a grin.

"Oh… Sorry…" Kagami said, still trying to wake up.

"It's fine. It was nice to have company. And besides, you're even cuter when you sleep." Konata said teasingly, standing up and sitting on the bed by Kagami.

Kagami was still groggy enough that it took a few seconds to register that she was being teased.

She sat up, stretched her arms, and yawned. Then her eyes widened and her face went red.

"W-what do you mean c-c-c-c-"

"I mean you're even cuter than usual! You're pretty cute when you're embarrassed too." Konata said, her grin spreading.

Kagami didn't respond, but she looked down and pushed her fingers together, as her blush spread from her face to the rest of her body.

"Guh… Um…" Kagami gasped, trying to make coherent words through her embarrassment.

"Um… Y-you're cute too." She said finally, her face coming to a boil, and steam pouring out off her ears.

"Aaaaaaww!" Konata said, wrapping her arms around Kagami's waste and hugging her.

"K-Konata, get off!" Kagami said quickly.

"Don't be embarrassed Kagamin, you know you like it." Konata teased.

"No, it's not… not that… I can't b-brea… breathe… *gasp*"

"Oh, sorry." Konata said, loosening her grip.

Kagami gasped again, but smiled as her breath came back.

"It's fine."

"Soo… Now what?" Konata asked yet again.

"I guess I should go home." Kagami said, sounding slightly depressed. "It is a school night after all, and I doubt my parents would let me stay out."

"Alright." Konata said sadly. She got up gave Kagami a quick kiss.

"What was that one for?" Kagami asked, slightly embarrassed.

"A goodbye kiss. That's going to be our new tradition!" Konata said happily.

"Don't go making stuff like that up by yourself!" Kagami scolded.

"Aaw. So you didn't like it." Konata asked, making puppy-eyes at Kagami.

"I never said that." Kagami said, giving Konata a kiss.

"I just don't want you making it up by yourself."

"Fine." Konata said, now smiling mischievously.

"What are you thinking?" Kagami asked suspiciously, as she noticed a gleam in Konata's eyes.

"I'm thinking that I don't want you to go home yet!" Konata said, suddenly tackling Kagami in a hud, and starting to kiss her 'against her will.'

Between breaking away from Konata, and more random kisses from the blue-haired midget, it took Kagami almost 10 minutes to get to the front door, say goodbye, with one last goodbye kiss from Konata, and start her way back to the train station.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"_Kagami, where are you? It's getting late!" _Kagami's mom's voice came out of the phone.

"Sorry Mom. I was at Konata's house. It's kind of a long story. I'm coming home right now." Kagami explained.

"_Oh? I take it that everything went well."_ Her mom asked said happily.

"Uh… Yeah." Kagami said, a blush spreading on her face.

"_Alright then, I'll see you later." _She said, no longer sounding angry or worried.

"Bye Mom." Kagami said, and hung up.

Kagami smiled as she put the cell phone back in her pocket.

"Well, this day turned out better than expected." She said happily, as she took a seat and waited for the next train.

…

The next morning, Kagami woke up with mixed feelings. She and her father still weren't talking, but she figured that with everyone else ignoring him, he'd give up soon enough. He was a good dad, but he was bit stubborn. Kagami almost thought she had dreamt the whole thing (although she couldn't tell how far back the dream went) until her mother quietly congratulated her.

Getting ready for school, eating breakfast, saying goodbye, and walking to the train with Tsukasa only made the situation seem like it had all been a dream. Surely nothing this ordinary could happen after such a momentous occasion. As the train pulled up, Kagami and Tsukasa heard a frantic panting from behind them, followed by "Wait!" They looked around, to be greeted with the sight of a messy Konata rushing for the train.

"Hey Konata." Kagami said casually, as they moved onto the train.

"Why were you late?" Tsukasa asked.

"Because I slept in late." Konata said tiredly.

Kagami looked her over, and saw that she was even more of a mess than what she first thought. He hair was tangled and sticking up in parts, he uniform was wrinkled, and she could smell a little bit of sweat from all the running she had done.

"Playing games all night?" Kagami asked with a smirk.

"Actually no. I'm not sure why I slept in this late. I went to bed relatively early." Konata said, catching her breath and sitting down.

Konata thought hard for a second.

"It's probably because I was so excited." Konata said with a grin.

Kagami didn't need to ask what she meant.

After Konata had managed to tame her hair, and spray herself with some spray-on deodorant (Kagami didn't even bother asking Konata why she had it) they talked about random things, just like they usually did.

After they got to school, Kagami walked with Konata and Tsukasa to their class.

"I can't believe you got me to agree to be a cheerleader." Kagami said slightly bitterly, as she slid the door open.

Kagami bumped into someone as she walked in.

It was Tama.

Kagami didn't say or do anything. She only glared threateningly at Tama.

Tama on the other hand, was fidgeting and looking down at the floor, a guilty look on her face.

"So… Congratulations… I guess." She said suddenly.

"Huh?" Kagami asked in surprise. This was the last thing she was expecting.

"I told her after you left last night." Konata explained.

"Oh." Kagami said, realizing that it was the kind of thing Konata would do.

"And…" Tama said, her fidgeting increasing, and desperately trying to look anywhere but at Kagami and Konata.

Suddenly, she dropped to her knees in a low bow.

"I'm sorry!" She said loudly.

"H-hey! What're you doing? We're in public, don't do weird stuff like this in crowded places!" Kagami said, trying to make her stand up before anyone tried to ask questions.

"Konata help me get her up." Kagami said, trying to pull Tama up by the wrist.

"Okay." Konata said, grabbing Tama's other hand. Tama stood up reluctantly, then sat in her chair.

Kagami let go of her wrist, and glared down a bit angrily. Then she extended her hand.

"Fine. I accept your apology." She said with a strict voice.

"Why?" Tama asked.

"Everything worked out, for the most part. Now shake my hand before I change my mind." Kagami said, starting to get irritated.

Tama shook her hand, and during the awkward silence that followed, Kagami looked around the room. She noticed people staring at them.

"What?" She asked threateningly. The students went back to their own business.

"So… I guess I should go to my class." Kagami said after a few seconds.

"Alright. Bye Kagami."

"Bye Onee-chan."

Tama gave a quiet "Seeya." And Kagami walked to her room.

Later, during lunch, Kagami and Tama reluctantly sat at the table, together with Konata, Tsukasa and Miyuki. They tried not to talk directly to each other, but occasionally looked each other in the eye.

After school, Kagami met up with Konata and the others at the shoe-lockers, and once again, Kagami and Tama avoided talking to each other. Tama and Miyuki went her own way, Tsukasa went with Miyuki, explaining that she had already gotten permission from their parents, leaving Kagami and Konata alone.

"So…" Kagami said quietly.

"I know what went on between you and Tama." Konata suddenly blurted out.

"Really?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah. I had a bit of a suspicion when both of you confessed to me, but she told me everything when I called her." Konata explained.

"Oh."

"Although I'm surprised you forgave her that easily." Konata said with a small smile.

"Yeah. So am I, actually. But I guess she seemed really sorry, so I just kind of… Gave in." Kagami said, scratching the back of her head.

"Aaw, Kagami's such a nice person." Konata said, hugging Kagami as they walked.

"H-hey, we're still in public you know." Kagami said, a blush spreading across her face.

"So?" Konata asked.

"Uuh… Never mind." Kagami said, knowing Konata would let go anyway. So they walked awkwardly to the train station, ignoring the looks they were getting, and waited until the train came. They stayed connected until the train stopped, and they walked out.

"Alright, well… I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Kagami said, already feeling a bit lonely now that Konata had let go of her.

"Alright." Konata said, and stood as high as she could to kiss Kagami."

Kagami was taken by surprise, and she jumped back a little bit.

"It's hard enough to kiss you when you're standing still, but I can't if you jump away." Konata complained.

"W-why did you-"

"Remember what I said? That's gonna be our thing now." Konata explained.

"Oh yeah… Well you could have at least given me some warning. I was surprised, so I did what my instincts told me." Kagami said apologetically.

"Now that that's settled, can you bend a little bit. You're taller than I am." Konata said with a smile.

"Sure." Kagami nodded, and bent her knees a little, catching Konata's lips with her own as the short girl kissed her.

They broke apart after a few seconds.

"Well then… Bye." Kagami said dizzily, walking away.

"Bye!" Konata said cheerfully.

"_Man I'm never going to get tired of that." _Both Kagami and Konata thought.

Kagami reflected back, as she walked home slowly, on how she had first realized that she had a crush on Konata. She thought back further on all the times she had noticed her feeling, but never knew what they were.

"I'll never understand any of this." Kagami said quietly to herself, shaking her head hopelessly.

Kagami sighed, as she continued walking, thoughts and memories of Konata she hadn't thought about since her memories came back, filled her head.

She got to her house, said "Hi." To her mom, and went to her room.

She picked up the picture of her, Konata, Tsukasa, and Miyuki from the picture booth in Kyoto. She smiled, and pinned it on her picture board with all the other pictures.

She sighed once again as she lay down on her bed.

Everything was back to normal.

Or at least, as normal is it could get when you hang around Konata.

THE END

* * *

Total-Insanity-519: ALRIGH-TAY! Before I say anything else, I just want to say:

"Thanks for sticking with me for so long, thanks for being patient (or not so patient) and I'm sorry for being such a slacker!"

Now, I'm currently planning on either making my next story a Clannad FanFic, or re-doing my "American Modesty" FanFic, so that it actually makes sense, and _doesn't_ look like a jumbled together, random, pathetic attempt of a story.

But before I start anything new, I'm going to finish up my old "Valentine's Day Syndrome" story (which has also been a victim to my extreme procrastination.)

But no matter which new story I do, the Valentines Day Syndrome story is probably the only time you'll be seeing me in a long time. And _that's _ because for my next story, I'm introducing:

"FanFic writing 2.0! Enjoy all the great writing of my past works with new features, such as:

Chapters of a guaranteed 5000+ words!

A new chapter every week!

_Every chapter_ written early, so that it's never late for publishing (unless I have computer troubles, or no connection to the internet)

And every chapter is planned out _before _it's written, so that there's better fore-shadowing, less random situations, and better plot continuation between chapters!

FanFic writing 2.0! (patent pending)

So once again, thanks for sticking around for the past however long it's taken me to finish this story, and I _won't _see you later on "Caught on the Rebounds!"

Akira: Don't we get to say anything?

MEITO ANIZAWA: YES! I HAVE MANY PASSIONATE MESSAGES TO SHARE WITH OUR ADORING FANS!

Total-Insanity-519: Nope, the story's over, time for you to go.

Akira: WHAT!

Total-Insanity-519: I JUST WANT TO END IT! NOW SAY GOODBYE, OR YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE IN ANY STORY EVER AGAIN!

Akira: Fine...

All: Bye-nii!

Akira: Bastard.


End file.
